Authorities said Duyck, a homeless man, admitted to assaulting the horse. Photo / Getty Images
Authorities said Duyck, a homeless man, admitted to assaulting the horse. Photo / Getty Images
An Oregon homeless man has admitted to breaking into a barn and sexually assaulting a horse.
Authorities said that Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, entered the stables at a rural home near Hillsboro, Oregon and had sexual contact with a black mare named Ellie, according to court documents.
Duyck was arrestedon Tuesday and charged with second-degree burglary, sexual assault of an animal and violating his parole, reports Daily Mail.
A homeowner called deputies on April 19, after discovering that her stable had been broken into and finding her horse, Ellie, tied up in an unusual way, the Hillsboro Tribune reported.
Although nothing seemed to have been stolen, items were moved around the stable, the homeowner reported.
Deputies found an overturned bucket near the horse, according to The Oregonian.
The homeowner said that she took a photo of Ellie and sent it to her daughter, a veterinarian, who said that it appeared as though someone had engaged in sexual contact with the horse, according to court documents reviewed by FOX 12.
Authorities examined Ellie and collected DNA evidence from her.
The day before discovering the alleged sexual assault of her horse, the homeowner told deputies that a man had called her and asked for permission to camp on her property, but she had denied his request.
After the call, the homeowner said that she saw a "homeless-looking" man, who identified himself as being Duyck, talking with her neighbors.
Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, was charged with second-degree burglary, sexual assault of an animal and violating his parole. Photo / Washington County Sheriff's Office
Duyck was arrested after deputies tracked him down while sleeping in his car in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter in nearby Cornelius, Oregon.
Following his arrest, authorities collected Duyck's DNA.
Deputies said that Duyck claimed to have broken into the stable in an effort to find work, but later admitted to having sexual contact with the horse and that it was the first and only time that he had sexually assaulted a horse.
The probable cause affidavit revealed that Duyck stated that he believed he was driven to sexually assault the horse because he had not been taking his medications.
Authorities told the Hillsboro Tribune that Duyck has been known to visit the area where the incident occurred and has some family members there.
Court records showed that Duyck had been convicted of burglary and theft charges in 2017, after breaking into his uncle's home and stealing a handgun in 2015. Duyck was found unfit to stand trial at first and received several months of treatment at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, Oregon, before he was deemed able to aid his own defense.
At the time of his arrest on Tuesday, Duyck was on probation for the 2017 conviction.
If found guilty of sexually assaulting the horse, Duyck could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined up to $125,000.
