Kevin McHahon avoids jail over bestiality, trespass charges

A man was caught on CCTV performing a sex act with a horse after breaking into a stable. A court has heard the horse’s owner can’t get the footage from her mind.

Kevin McMahon leaving Geelong court earlier this year.

The owner of a horse which was molested by a strapper has described how the footage of the disgusting act continues to haunt her.

The woman told the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday she was “on edge, constantly”, struggled to sleep and felt “intense periods of anxiety, depression and anger”.

“I feel so much guilt that I wasn’t able to be there and stop it,” she said in a victim impact statement.

Kevin McMahon, 53, escaped jail for the deplorable act in Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge placed McMahon on a 24-month community corrections order (CCO), including 240 hours of unpaid community work.

He must also register as sex offender for eight years.

Mr Lethbridge was scathing in his sentencing remarks, telling the court McMahon showed “no remorse” and continued to deny involvement, despite “overwhelming evidence” of his guilt. Bestiality was “a crime against public morality and decency” Mr Lethbridge said, and McMahon’s actions were “deliberate, voluntary and conscious”.

On November 17, 2022, McMahon was caught on CCTV sexually penetrating a horse after breaking in to a stable.

McMahon had contested the bestiality and trespassing charges, but was found guilty at a hearing earlier this year.

McMahon’s lawyer, Jonathan Barrera, told the court on Monday his client suffered a “significantly disadvantaged” upbringing, including abuse.

He has a severe form of schizoid personality disorder and symptoms of major depressive disorder and PTSD stemming from his childhood traumas, the court was told.

McMahon’s mental health diagnoses meant he had an inability to engage in social interactions and struggled to display empathy, the court heard.

Mr Lethbridge acknowledged McMahon’s deprived and troubled background, as well as his mental health diagnoses, reduced his moral culpability somewhat, but noted he otherwise had “entirely normal cognitive function”.

McMahon spent two decades in the racing industry working as a strapper, the court was told, during which time he suffered several accidents, being kicked in the head by a horse on one occasion and “nearly put in a wheelchair” in another.

McMahon had no history of drug abuse, but has developed a significant drinking problem, the court heard, and “deep-seeded feelings of alienation and disaffection”.

Mr Barrera argued for a CCO, while the prosecution argued for a combined sentence of prison time and a CCO.

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Lethbridge said imprisonment was imposed on a bestiality charge in cases where other factors such as cruelty, sadism and torture were also present.

Mr Lethbridge told the court the crimes had a significant impact on the victims.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Alex Turner read out statements by the horse’s owner and the owner of the stable.

The stable’s owner told the court she was shocked and disgusted by the incident, and that it had damaged the stable’s reputation.

Originally published as Kevin McHahon avoids jail over bestiality, trespass charges