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Sentence Handed Down in Burns Animal Cruelty Case |
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*Caution: Graphic Content*
The Buckeye man who pled guilty to one count of felony animal cruelty for sodomizing one of his dogs with the rubber handle of a mallet was sentenced today to jail time, a psychological evaluation and was prohibited from having direct or indirect contact with animals during a 3-year period of supervised probation. Douglas Robert Burns, now 54, previously stood trial in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2006 for allegedly having sexual relations with his dogs. The case went to trial, and the trial ended in a hung jury (CR 2005-008539).
The Honorable Timothy J. Ryan listened as prosecutor Anthony Church vividly described the conduct which led to Burns' arrest. Mr. Church also presented the court with graphic photographs showing the defendant engaging in various sexual acts with his dogs. Burns took the roll of film to a Wal-Mart store to be developed; however, workers at the store turned the photos over to law enforcement authorities. The dogs were seized at the time of the crime by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and have since been adopted into new homes.
Defense attorney Kristen Curry with the law firm of Curry, Pearson & Wooten, PLC attempted to convince the judge that the prosecution was trying to raise the irrelevant moral argument in this case, when for the most part, his acts were not illegal and did not rise to the level of animal cruelty. Prosecutor Church spoke about the pain and suffering these dogs endured, and that even if no permanent damage was inflicted, he stated "no person has the right to violate an animal" in this fashion.
In his comments prior to sentencing, Judge Ryan stated "this is an unusual case, because your criminal conduct was so off the chart, the legislature hadn't even come up with a definition of it as a crime." The bill outlawing bestiality was not passed until 2006. However at the time of the offense in 2005, prosecutors charged Ryan under the animal cruelty statute instead because of the nature of the crime. Ryan went on to say "what troubles me is that a good gauge of other people is how they treat animals - I fear for all of us."
Speaking on his own behalf, Burns told the court that he "made a terrible mistake," and "I told my Father in heaven if I should sin again in any like manner, he should take my salvation and I should go straight to hell." Burns went on to speak about the importance of his wife, daughter and grandchildren, and his church, in his life, and how he felt he had suffered enough through the loss of a prior good job, and the public humiliation he has already endured.
Acting on the recommendations of the prosecutor and probation department, Judge Ryan ordered that the defendant be placed on three years of supervised probation, receive animal abuse offender treatment and that he not own, control, reside with or come in contact with any other animals during his probation.
He was also ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation, as well as a sexual history polygraph, and that the results be submitted to the court for review. Pending the outcome of those results, it is likely that Burns will be required to report for a minimum 30-day jail sentence on November 2, 2007. Judge Ryan indicated the acts perpetrated by Burns were "something not even contemplated as being capable of [being done] in human behavior" and that he wished to view the report before making final jail time recommendations so he could "grasp in some fashion what is going on here." Based on the results of the evaluation, Burns may also be ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and potentially register as a sex offender. Judge Ryan also cautioned Burns to follow all the terms of his probation without fail, and indicated that his courtroom religious conversion "won't be ground for mitigation in the court's eyes."
Representatives from the Arizona Humane Society attended the sentencing hearing. "We are delighted with the judgment demonstrated by Judge Ryan in this case, and we are encouraged by his understanding of the strong link between cruelty toward animals and crimes against other vulnerable populations," said AHS President and Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Naumann. "The judge's desire to hear a full evaluation of the defendant's mental state in order to protect other animals, and the public, from an individual with a history of deviant behavior is very encouraging."
Burns stated that he has previously surrendered the remaining pets in his home, two cats, to his daughter and that he does not have contact with them. The Arizona Humane Society will continue to monitor this case and will offer to assist the probation department with home checks during the probation period to assure no animals reside with Burns.
dasy42 · Sun Jul 22, 2007 @ 11:06am · 2 Comments |
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