WARNING: THIS CASE CONCERNS EXTREME ANIMAL OFFENCES - Woman spared jail for bestiality

Carol Bowditch, 64, of Evedon, had sex with a St Bernard, a black labrador and an Alsatian claiming later she did not realise that it was illegal.

Bowditch admitted a charge of having sexual intercourse with an animal between November 13, 2011 and November 25, 2014. She also admitted possession of 37 extreme pornographic images on March 21, 2016.

Her activities were exposed as a result of an RAF Police investigation which centred on a man identified as organising a bizarre sex party at which owners watched their dogs having sex with women and then went on to have sex themselves with the women.

Details of the event were later posted on an internet forum specialising in bestiality.

Ultimately the investigation led police to visit Bowditch and when her home was searched officers found a DVD and a USB stick which both contained film of her with dogs.

Victoria Rose, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court: “When the DVD was analysed it was found to contain extreme images. Those images portrayed persons committing penetrative sexual acts with dogs.

“Also included were images of this defendant herself carrying out sexual activity.

“Included was an eight minute and 59 seconds video of Mrs Bowditch engaging in vaginal and oral sex with a St Bernard dog named Oscar.

“When the defendant was interviewed she admitted she had penetrative sex with dogs.

“She accepted it had taken place over several years. She was unaware it was illegal.

“She identified the dogs. She said she had penetrative sex once with a labrador and twice with an Alsatian.

“She recalled she had sex with a St Bernard.”

Miss Rose said that at least eight photographs were found of Bowditch having sex with dogs and 30 moving images.

Daniel Galloway, 65, of the same address, admitted aiding and abetting Bowditch to have intercourse with an animal. He also admitted charges of making indecent images of children, possession of a prohibited image of a child, distributing 1,861 indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography. His sentence was adjourned to a later date.

James Gray, in mitigation, said: “She is 64 and has no previous convictions.

“Both she and Mr Galloway have suffered considerable public humiliation.

“They have been ostracised by their friends and family.

“They have suffered that added element of punishment which in less salacious cases would not be present.”

On Friday Bowditch was given a community order with 12 months supervision and a 16 week night-time curfew. The maximum she could have faced for having sex with a dog was a two year jail sentence.

Judge Michael Heath, passing sentence, told Bowditch: “What you engaged in was first of all unlawful and secondly disgusting. I am told that you have received public humiliation as a result of the publicity that this case has attracted. That does not surprise me.”