Man who allegedly sexually assaulted a pig is pictured for the first time – after hideous ‘pants dropping’ video emerged online
The son of a pig farmer accused of sexually abusing a sow named Olivia has been photographed for the first time, with activists demanding the animal be released.
Bradley O’Reilly, 30, was charged after he was allegedly captured on secret camera by activists at the Midland Bacon pig farm in Carag Carag, north central Victoria, which his father Ricky O’Reilly runs.
The video showed a person with his pants around his ankles allegedly sexually assaulting woman No. 8416, now named Olivia by activists, on February 11.
O’Reilly appeared in person in Echuca District Court on August 6 to face charges of bestiality. He remained silent when his lawyer requested an adjournment to allow for additional disclosure of material relating to the case.
Judge Russell Kelly adjourned the case until October 8 and extended O’Reilly’s bail.
The O’Reilly family are well known in the local community and sporting world of north central Victoria.
The suspect won the Stanhope Football Club award for ‘most determined’ player in 2019 and was in the reserve team until last year.
Detectives from Victoria charged O’Reilly after Farm Transparency Project activists turned over the video footage of Olivia, who allegedly broke into Midland Bacon to install the camera.
Bradley O’Reilly, who is accused of bestiality, is pictured above
Footage captured by animal rights activists in Midland Bacon, Victoria, reportedly shows the son of the pig farm manager, Bradley O’Reilly, abusing a sow
The FTP now has a Change.org Petition Demanding the Sow’s Release The campaign for Olivia was supported by Instagram and video posts.
Activists have also protested outside the gates of the pigsty with banners and soft pig toys.
Prominent animal rights activist Sophie Wilcher, who started the petition for Olivia, claimed the footage showed O’Reilly attacking the pig in a locked pen at the end of a day’s work.
The video allegedly shows him dropping his pants and committing the alleged assault.
Sow No. 8416 was at the time in a farrowing pen, in which sows are deliberately confined during pregnancy and after birth to reduce the risk of the mother lying on and crushing her newborn piglets.
“We have made this footage available on our website, along with other photos and footage of standard, routine atrocities at the same facility,” FTP said.
The cameras that activists had placed in the pigsty were not intended to reveal bestiality. However, the FTP did investigate other alleged incidents of abuse.
Activists have launched a campaign to free sow No. 8416 (above), which they have named Olivia, and have created a petition demanding the pig be released from captivity.
Sow No. 8416 now has her own ‘Free Olivia’ T-shirt and activists have been protesting outside the pigsty with placards and pig toys calling for her release and medical treatment following the alleged attack
Piglets were reportedly killed by blunt force and procedures were performed by farm hands without anesthesia, such as tooth extraction, which is a legal practice on animals.
In a separate case, O’Reilly pleaded guilty at Shepparton District Court on Friday to 22 charges including reckless endangerment, namely strangulation, causing his victim to sustain serious injuries on multiple occasions.
The court heard O’Reilly had behaved ‘like an animal’ towards the woman, admitting he had choked her, threatened her and run away with a black eye.
He was allowed to leave court on a two-year community service order, which means he must perform 200 hours of unpaid work and undergo treatment.
Judge Simon Zebrowski made clear how close he came to jailing O’Reilly for his attacks on the woman.
“This was a very difficult sentencing exercise for me because your conduct alone is sufficient to sentence you to a prison term,” he said.
Mr Zebrowski said the community needs to understand that prison is the last resort for offenders.
“Prison doesn’t rehabilitate. Prison doesn’t do that, it’s a last resort because it’s just punishment,” he told O’Reilly.
Activists broke into Midland Bacon and set up cameras to document alleged animal abuse. The footage allegedly captured the manager’s son sexually abusing one of the sows
Activists protested outside Midland Bacon, leaving toys, coins and notes for the sow, saying in one sentence: “Best Olivia in the world. We’re sorry. We’re trying.”
“What would I gain by sending you to jail today? It could make a lot of people in the community happy. There might even be people who read about this in the news and think, ‘Yeah, gorgeous, that animal is going to jail.’
Mr Zebrowski warned O’Reilly that he could face immediate imprisonment if he ever behaved in such a manner again.
“If you can’t control your emotions, if you feel the need to put your hand around someone’s throat, if you feel the need to take their phone away and break it or throw it away, all of those factors are all warning signs,” he said.
According to Mr Zebrowski, O’Reilly displayed all the characteristics of a controlling and coercive person.
“I’m in control. I’m not letting this go. I’m the boss. That kind of coercive and controlling behavior. All those red flags in your history and if you do something like that again, you’re going to jail,” he warned.
“If you don’t care about anything but yourself, that’s where you’re going. And if you don’t learn coping skills and can’t get out of the habits of a wild dog, that’s where you’re going.”