Authorities in Norfolk have arrested a 19-year-old man who was allegedly caught on camera s3xually assaulting a horse at Turner Hill Equestrian Stables.
Jackson Z. Kelley, 19, of Boston’s Allston neighborhood, turned himself in late Tuesday morning accompanied by a lawyer, according to police. He was arraigned at Wrentham District Court on the charges of sexual contact with an animal, cruelty to animals, and nighttime breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony.
Kelley is currently being held without bail pending a hearing on Friday to determine if he’s a danger to the public, the MetroWest Daily News reported.
“??The Norfolk Police Department would like to thank the public for taking the time to come forward and become involved,” police told Boston.com in a statement. “We received many calls providing information which eventually led to the identification of Kelley as the suspect.”
Kelley was allegedly seen on camera standing on a stool having sex with a mare around 4:30 a.m. on July 15.
Stable owner, Hillary Swarr told WCVB the man had unplugged all of her security cameras except one, which caught the sexual assault. She believes the man was familiar with how to handle horses, noting his ability to halter and secure the horse near a grain feed to keep it occupied.
“I felt violated. I felt lost. I felt scared,” Swarr said. “To see that someone would come into my own home and degrade a positive environment left me feeling violated.”
Swarr told the Daily News an employee was remotely alerted by an alarm when a stall door opened, but no one could get there before the suspect fled.
Swarr told WCVB that DNA samples were collected from the horse, which was not injured in the assault.
“If it weren’t for good surveillance, we’d never know about this,” the horse’s owner, who wished to be unnamed, told WCVB in a statement. “No one should experience sexual assault, and we will find this individual and bring him to justice.”