james tait, doug spink, stephen clarke, and others

linked in animal sex abuse cases

bY JENNY EDWARDS

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

If you know much about the history of Hope For Horses, you know that we get involved in some gnarly cases. 

The “Enumclaw Sex Case” was one of them.  Back in 2005, Ken Pinyan died after being penetrated by a  stallion at a farm in Enumclaw, Washington.  The case was quite sensational and received international attention.  It led to a new law making bestiality a crime in Washington . . . which came in handy after James Tait moved to Tennessee.

James Tait used to live in Enumclaw, and was renting a farm where Pinyan was a regular visitor.  Although Tait and others were accused of hosting international tourists for “animal sex parties,” there was no law against bestiality at the time.  So Tait got off with a $300 fine for trespassing on the farm next door -- where some of the horse victims lived.  It’s hard to say where the $300 went; we know for sure it didn’t take care of Pinyan’s horse who spent months at Hope For Horses being rehabilitated.

After a while, Tait moved to Tennessee but old habits die hard, and Tait was arrested on October 15, 2009 for once again having sex with horses.   At some point during his incarceration, Tait reached out to fellow animal lover Doug Spink, who lived in Whatcom County, Washington. 

Spink was already well-known to Washington, as well as international, law enforcement for having been convicted of drug smuggling charges back in February of 2005.   Spink’s sentence of three years for 372 pounds of cocaine seemed light to some.  But time heals all wounds, or so they say.

By May of 2008, Spink was out on probation, but he couldn’t steer clear of the law.  Seems his award-winning, multi-million dollar but uninsured stallion had been stolen.  A long-drawn out battle of he-said, she-said ensued, but ultimately the stallion was returned, and everything went back to “normal.”  Spink’s version of “normal,” that is.

On April 14, 2010, Spink’s ramshackle farm was raided and Stephen Clarke was arrested for having sex with dogs.  The evidence against Clarke was pretty compelling and Clarke pled guilty on May 11.  Now that we have a law making bestiality a Class-C Felony in the State of Washington, the judge could have sentenced Clarke to five years in prison and imposed a $10,000 fine.

Instead, Clarke was sentenced to 30 days in jail (most of which has already been served) and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine to the Whatcom Humane Society, who has custody of the dogs as well as several horses removed from the property.  It is estimated that the humane society has incurred something close to $10,000 by now taking care of all Spink’s animals, except, of course, for the string-wrapped, vaseline-coated mice that had to be euthanized. 

You might be pondering whether Clarke’s fine is just, so take heart - there’s more to the story. 

Turns out that Stephen Clarke is not just pervy in our country, there’s a little matter of having been convicted of “moral turpitude” in his home country of Great Britain.  Clarke failed to mention that on his visa waiver application when he decided to visit the Spink animal love emporium.  That could earn him a little time in the federal pokey (no pun intended).  And it is well established that sex offenders are prime targets for mistreatment in prison.

While we are certainly not opposed to organic justice meted out by Clarke’s peers, we find it outrageous that all of these criminals - these men who cruelly abuse animals - these men who have sex outside their species with animals that cannot speak for themselves - we find it outrageous that they are still getting off with tiny little slaps on the wrist.  $300 here, $1000 there, and a few days of jail thrown in. 

It takes thousands and thousands of dollars, and months or years (if it’s even possible) to rehabilitate animals who have been sexually abused.  It took Washington 121 years to decide that bestiality was a form of animal cruelty, but a Class C felony is the same charge given for Internet gambling.  What???  These people are sex offenders, and should be treated as such.  Although many of them will tell you that they “love” their animals, that they think of them as “family,” that they have a “relationship” with them, having sex with one’s animal is no different from having sex with one’s child - presumably who is also entitled to a loving relationship as part of a family.

If you are outraged about animal cruelty, DO something.  Do something yourself, or help us do it for you.  Write your state legislators.  Show up at hearings long before the sentencing phase.  Speak up.  Donate to organizations like ours that advocate for change.    Help us help the horses or other animals who don’t deserve to be used as sex slaves.