Man who was caught having sex with a cow after farmer set up surveillance suspecting his herd was being ‘interfered with’ when calves kept dying is spared jail

A depraved pervert who was caught sneaking into a cowshed and having sex with a calf after a farmer set up surveillance has avoided jail today.

Farmer Ian Farwell found Liam Brown, 25, with his trousers down, his hands on either side of his calf and his hips moving back and forth.

Brown had raised the alarm in the early hours of the night and ran away from the cattle farm at Burton, near Christchurch, Dorset. He jumped over a number of fences and then ended up in another cowshed, where he was trampled by the animals.

He was caught crying on the ground by Mr Farwell, whose family has owned the farm for 144 years. Brown's father had previously worked there for 17 years as a tractor driver.

A DNA sample from the calf showed that sexual intercourse had taken place on June 12 last year.

Brown admitted the offense and said he felt “shame and shame.” He was ordered to pay £600 in damages to Mr Farwell by a judge, who called the case a 'very alarming, bizarre and worrying case'.

Mr Farwell had suspected for some time that his cows were being 'troubled' as there had been a number of suspicious incidents previously.

Surgical gloves and clothing had been left behind and several young calves had died from unexplained circumstances.

Mr Farwell, his wife Tracey, son Ralph and daughter Emily hatched a plan to catch the pervert and installed CCTV.

On June 12, Mr Farwell heard one of the calves making a 'characteristic distressed noise'. He checked the CCTV footage, saw that someone was in the shed and called his father.

Matthew Mortimer, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court today: 'The family came up with a plan for what to do if someone was caught red-handed: they would gather around the gates to ensure they couldn't escape and then turn on the lights .

'They thought they would only get one chance.

'When a cow is in distress, she makes a very distinctive sound. On June 12 at 11:45 PM, Ralph woke up and heard a calf making that distinctive sound.

'He went to reception on his phone, looked at the CCTV footage and saw a figure chasing a calf with what looked like a leash in his hand.

“He called his dad and told him he was there.

'Emily and Ian Farwell have moved to cover the entrance to the drawing room. Emily saw the defendant with both arms around the animal and his pants slightly lowered. She turned on the light.

'They saw the male figure's hips moving back and forth, clearly having sex with the animal.

“He put his erect penis back in his jeans and tried to escape.”

Brown was found on the ground crying and saying, “I'm sorry I messed up.”

“They asked if he had left the calf tied up and he said no, he had already untied the calf,” Mr Mortimer told the court.

Brown suffered an ankle injury during the trampling and was taken away by police.

Reading a victim impact statement from Mr Farwell, he said: 'I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what was going on.

'The calves got sick and died for no apparent reason. We had a trusted supplier, but imposed requirements on them to carry out checks.

'But that was due to the unthinkable actions of the defendant. The animals are very important to me, it was soul destroying to see them in distress.

'It put enormous pressure on the family. We all blamed each other, but the truth was something we couldn't understand.'

Brown, of Grosvenor Garden, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to sexual penetration with a live animal and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and showed genuine remorse.

Olivia McGonigle, defending, said: “He does not live anywhere near the farm and has no intention of working with livestock. He lives with his mother, but there is a possibility that he will move in with his girlfriend, who has been a very supportive person.

'He has made it known how remorseful he is. He is saddened by the pain he has caused.”

She said Brown had no qualifications but worked for an employment agency and had worked night shifts stacking shelves.

Judge Keith Cutler sentenced him to a three-year community order with rehabilitation requirements and 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £600 compensation to the Farwells.

He also issued a disqualification order banning him from keeping livestock for 10 years.

Judge Cutler said: 'This is a deeply alarming, bizarre and worrying case. I'm sure you will look back on it not only with shame and embarrassment, but also with the determination that this will never happen again.

“Your actions have caused these animals unnecessary suffering and suffering.”

He said a long community service would be “more constructive” than a short prison sentence.

But after the case, Ms Farwell said: 'I think he should have gone to prison. It was a terrible time for us. He told police it had been going on for seven years.

'My job was to feed the calves, I fed them twice a day. They would be fine if I left them at night, and then in the morning I would find them sick and having trouble breathing.

“I thought they had pneumonia so I tried to treat them for that, but that was actually because he was choking them with his belt.”