Man 'attempted sex with rottweiler'

A North Wales man was found guilty yesterday of attempting to have sex with a rottweiler.

Thomas Robert Edwards, 20, who was working at Chester Zoo at the time of the incident, denied the charge of trying to sexually penetrate a living animal.

A neighbour claimed to have witnessed Edwards grab the rottweiler by its hind legs and thrust himself at it for about twenty or thirty seconds. Edwards claimed he had merely been stroking the dog in the back-garden, where he had gone to have a smoke and relieve himself.

The witness, Mr Richard Williams, said, "I felt sick. I was shocked. I could not believe what I had just seen."

Mr Williams claimed that Edwards then performed an indecent act on himself.

The court was told that the accused was drunk at the time of the incident, on the 30th of August this year, following a night out with friends in Wrexham. He then went to a party at a house on the outskirts of Wrexham where the offence took place in the early hours of the morning.

Edwards had been working in the catering department at Chester Zoo but had no contact with the animals there.

The court was also told that Edwards had pornography, featuring bestiality, on his computer which depicted sexual activity with horses and dogs.

Richard Williams, a neighbour, said he been awoken in the early hours by noises coming from the garden next door. On looking out of the window he claims to have seen Edwards trying to penetrate the female dog. He then knocked on the window, shortly after which Edwards returned into the house claiming he hadn't done anything.

Edwards strongly denied the allegations and Andrew Green, defending, questioned the witnesses statement saying that Mr Williams may have mistaken what he saw.

Edwards, of Hope, in North Wales admitted seven charges of possessing extreme pornography, though claimed the films had been downloaded onto his computer by accident.

Sentencing was adjourned until January and reports from the probation service were requested. Judge John Rogers QC indicated that Edwards would receive a non-custodial sentence.

Edwards told the court that he no longer worked in Chester Zoo but was hoping to go to college and to work with animals.

- THE INDEPENDENT