A man convicted of raping his pit bull puppy will spend 5 years in prison, according to the Florida State Attorney's office.
According to First Coast News, James Guy Bull of Daytona Beach, 62, pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and misdemeanor sexual activities involving animals in connection with the crimes.
"The facts of this case are incomprehensible and vile," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said after the sentence was handed down Friday. "The defendant's abuse of the helpless dog shocks the collective conscience of the citizens of the Seventh Circuit and beyond."
On March 18, two of the defendants neighbors reported to police, testifying they had seen him fondling the dog's private parts on several occasions. They also reported hearing the dog yelp and cry out when Bull abused it.
At one point, a neighbor was walking near Bull's apartment when he reportedly caught him in the act of having sex with the dog, prosecutors said. "When (Bull) saw (him), he pulled up his pants and put the dog down," court records show.
When police came to investigate the crimes, they said they found the small "clearly emaciated" dog chained to a post on the front porch, and that the animal had clearly been neglected, also.
"She had about 8 inches of free reign, no water, no shelter and no food for her," an affidavit said.
According to police, the animal was skittish and afraid, and showed numerous signs of physical abuse.
The dog, now named Rose, is safe in the custody of an animal rescue.
According to an article in the Mayport Florida Mirror in January, a St. Augustine man was convicted of bestiality with his dog and was sentenced to eight years in prison under the same state statute that was applied to Bull. St. Augustine is in St. Johns County, which is in the same judicial circuit as Volusia and Flagler counties.
