Bordertown farmer Shaun Wayne Taylor, 49, sentenced in District Court for bestiality
An SA farmer kept his sick fascination for animals hidden “from everyone” for decades, including his long-term partner, a court has heard.
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An SA farmer who committed bestiality with animals on his 750-acre property in the state’s South-East, and “kept it secret from everyone”, has managed to avoid jail time.
Shaun Wayne Taylor, 49, from Lowan Vale near Bordertown, appeared in the District Court for sentencing on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one count of commit bestiality.
Judge Gordon Barrett noted Taylor had photographed himself committing the vile acts – which he had kept hidden from his long-term partner of 24 years.
“Police were investigating another man for similar offending and noticed on his telephone images of communications that involved you,” Judge Barrett said.
“The contents of your phone indicate that you photographed yourself committing the offence on a number of occasions and communicating about it with others.
“You admitted to the psychologist that you’d been involved in that sort of behaviour since you were a teenager.”
Taylor was arrested by detectives from the Special Crimes Investigation section on December 22, 2023 after an examination of his electronic devices by police during an unrelated investigation.
Earlier this week, James Marcus, for Taylor, submitted his client was a “useful, hardworking member of the community” who had developed the sick obsession with animals at a young age.
“What Your Honour has is a man who, for a very long period of time, was engaging in behaviour that had become normalised to him,” Mr Marcus said.
“Ultimately, Your Honour has before you a man who has, for a lifetime, laboured under difficult circumstances. He established behaviour which he hid from others and carried on for a long time without ever having any sort of intervention.”
Judge Barrett sentenced Taylor to 18 months jail with a non-parole period of nine months – suspended upon entering into a two-year good behaviour bond.
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Originally published as Bordertown farmer Shaun Wayne Taylor, 49, sentenced in District Court for bestiality
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