'Disgusting' Gosport pensioner caught having sex with pet dog is spared jail

Pervert Terence Bennett, 67, was arrested after the passerby was alerted to 'sickening' cries of pain from the canine caused by the depraved defendant.

The 'anxious' Staffordshire bull-terrier and rottweiler cross called Ali was revealed to have suffered injuries and was given to the RSPCA. During the trial Bennett denied doing anything with the dog claiming he had been 'brushing' the animal.

He said that the injuries had been caused by bones the pet had been eating. However, he was found guilty of one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Now, at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court, the pensioner has been handed a suspended sentence and an indefinite ban on keeping animals.

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Sentencing Bennett, District Judge David Robinson described the scene witnessed by neighbour Kelly Nelson as 'disgusting'.

He said: "What Ms Nelson saw was a disgusting act... [she] is still traumatised to this day by what she saw. You caused Ali a substantial level of pain.

"The aggravating feature is the nature of this disgusting act which you inflicted on the dog for your sexual pleasure. I am going to disqualify you from keeping animals, I am going to make it indefinite because I am concerned there may be repetition of behaviour such as this."

Mitigating, Roni Pittman explained that Bennett is 'vulnerable' and has been 'hugely affected' by isolation in his area, dating back to before this incident. She said: "Bennett has had trouble in the local area for a number of years.

"He is quite a vulnerable man. His issues have affected his physical and mental health, isolation in the area has had a huge effect on him."

Ms Pittman added that he had been of good character since 1991, although details of that conviction were not disclosed to the court.

The trial before Portsmouth magistrates in April, heard that Bennett had owned the nine year old dog for somewhere between five and eight years. Opening the case, prosecutor Laura Jenking-Rees said that in October 2021 Ms Nelson was walking home from the shops with food for her children in Gosport when she heard the 'sickening' sound of an animal in pain.

She said: "On Wednesday 28 October 2021 at 7:34pm [she] was walking home from the shops when she heard a loud, distressed animal.

"She describes it as horrible and sickening, it sounded as if the animal was in pain. The noise was coming from Mr Bennett's house, [she] went to investigate and looked into a window."

Ms Jenking-Rees then described what the neighbour could see when she looked into Mr Bennett's home. She continued: "[Ms Nelson] watched for a few seconds, she described what she witnessed as 'sickening to watch'. She went home and spoke to a neighbour who advised her to report it to the RSPCA, they told her to call the police.

"The defendant was arrested and his dog was seized, the RSPCA officer described Ali as very nervous and anxious and as being one of the fattest dogs she had ever seen.

"The defendant was interviewed under caution, he denied all the allegations, attributing it to a grudge his neighbours had. There are a number of aspects to this offence that show unnecessary suffering has been caused when the court considers the eye witness and veterinary evidence."

Ms Nelson, who lives a few streets away, told the court it was 'obvious' to her what Mr Bennett was doing and that Ali's cries were 'chilling'.

The neighbour said: "I heard an animal in pain, it wasn't normal, I have got a dog and if I was to here a cry like that I would be straight outside. It was chilling, an awful noise."

When asked by Ms Jenking-Rees what she could see, Ms Nelson said: "It was obvious what he was doing, put it that way."

In his defence, Mr Bennett insisted he would never have sex with his dog and that the rear injuries may have been caused by her eating bones. He said: "I swear on my mother's life, I would not do that sort of thing.

"I certainly was not doing that, I was brushing her maybe. I think it is disgusting.

"I swear the injuries were not by me, she has been eating a lot of bones."

He also claimed that Ali was an anxious dog because she had been bitten by a previous owner.

Bennett was given an 18 week sentence suspended for one year with a requirement to complete 25 rehabilitation days, he was also ordered to pay a £128 statutory surcharge and costs of £400.

He has been disqualified from keeping animals indefinitely, a decision which can't be appealed for five years.