The measure would also implement a host of other penalties for offenders, including mandated psychiatric or psychological treatment at his or her own expense, and surrendering any animals in their possession but continuing to pay for their care and treatment.Īnyone convicted of sexual abuse of animal would also be prohibited from owning other animals, living in households with animals, and volunteering or working with animals for a minimum of five years “after the person’s release from imprisonment or court supervision.” “Additionally, many acts of animal sexual abuse are discovered long after the incident occurs, limiting the available evidence,” it says. Sexual assault, particularly of larger animals and livestock, often doesn’t generate that type of evidence, the bill notes. The measure would address gaps in the state’s animal cruelty laws, which require proof-typically bodily injury or death-to prosecute specific crimes. Anyone who has sex with an animal in front of a minor, or forces a minor to participate, would be subject to a class B felony, subject to up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $25,000. The legislation would classify the act as a class C felony if a person has sex with an animal, punishable with up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. “Establishing the sexual assault of an animal as a separate crime will allow state law enforcement officers to better identify potentially dangerous and violent sexual predators in their communities.”
“In addition, sexual abusers of animals have been shown to collect and share child pornography and express interest in other aberrant behavior involving sexual violence and fetish behaviors,” the bill continues. The act is often a punchline, but it’s also a documented precursor to other serious offenses, including “sexual abuse of children, as well as interpersonal violence and other forms of animal cruelty,” according to the proposed legislation. Only four states-Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia and Wyoming-do not have laws that formally prohibit sexual abuse of animals, traditionally known as bestiality. “The problem is that it is happening in our community, and we need to be able to stop it.” “People just don’t want to believe this is happening in our community,” Stephanie Kendrick, a public policy advocate for the Hawaiian Humane Society, said Tuesday at a hearing of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
Lawmakers in Hawaii are considering a measure to formally outlaw the sexual abuse of animals, an issue the bill’s supporters say is surprisingly common but rarely publicized.