Michigan Court Narrows Definition of Sex Offender to Exclude Bestiality

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that the definition of sex offender does not include people convicted of bestiality. That means that Jeffrey Scott Haynes, 45, will not have to register after serving time for have sex with sheep.

Haynes has a long history of crimes that stretch across the criminal code from forgery to home invasion to bad checks. He added trespass and bestiality when a ranch owner caught him on his ranch in January 2005 and reported that her sleep were injures. DNA evidence proved the crime and Haynes pleaded no contest. (DNA tests appear increasingly used in such cases, here).

Calhoun County Circuit Court ordered him to register as a sex offender after he completed his sentence. He is still serving time.

The three judge panel rules that “victims” of sexual assault only include humans.

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