Kenton County’s first bestiality case started as child porn investigation

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COVINGTON, Ky. (WXIX) - Prosecutors are pursuing the county’s first-ever bestiality case in Kenton County.

The case comes more than two years after sexual crimes against an animal became illegal by statute in Kentucky in June 2019.

A Kenton County Grand Jury indicted Bennett Couch on six charges of child pornography on Thursday.

Kenton County Prosecutor Rob Sanders says Couch was arrested in August after a search warrant led investigators to discover disturbing images.

“An individual in Fort Mitchell was uploading child pornography to a Tumblr account,” Sanders explained. “This Tumblr account was a blog titled ‘Naughty Confessions Only.’

The grand jury also indicted Couch on one count of sexual crimes against an animal.

Sanders says a search warrant on Couch’s electronic devices led investigators to pursue the charge.

“It involved sexual acts that Bennett Couch was observed engaging in with a dog,” the prosecutor said. “The officers determined those images were filmed here in Kenton County.”

Sanders says this is a rare case and the first of its kind to be prosecuted in the county.

“It’s kind of surprising that engaging with sex acts with an animal wasn’t a felony until [2019,]” Sanders said. “But it is now.”

Jail records show Couch was booked into Kenton County Jail as a female but, according to his defense attorney, he identifies as a male.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for the charges. His next court date is Dec. 3.

This is not Northern Kentucky’s first bestiality case. In November 2020, Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced a man and woman had pleaded guilty to bestiality charges.

Court documents alleged the two had engaged in sexual contact with a dog and/or aided another person to engage in sexual contact with a dog.

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