Authorities in Texas have arrested a Mexican national living illegally in the United States after U.S. Border Patrol Officials witness him engaged in sexual intercourse with a cow.
STARR COUNTY, TEXAS– A 28-year-old man is currently in the custody of United States Border Patrol officials after having been arrested this past Friday in rural Starr County, Texas.
Local law enforcement initially became involved when they were contacted by U.S. Border Patrol agents just before 8 p.m. local time on March 15, 2019. Upon arrival at the scene, an unspecified location near the Hidalgo and Starr county line, deputies met with Border Patrol agents who stated that they witnessed a man, now identified as Jose Nino, partaking in sexual intercourse with a cow.
Following a brief investigation, it was determined that Mr. Nino is a Mexican national that is in the United States illegally and is, in fact, the individual that the U.S. Border Patrol agents observed “having sex with a cow.” The suspect was immediately taken into police custody and transported to the Starr County jail.
Laws against bestiality vary and are largely a matter of state law rather than federal. At this time, only a handful of states have legalized bestiality, and there is no federal law that explicitly prohibits sexual intercourse between humans and animals. Until very recently, bestiality was still legal in Texas.
However, new laws enacted in 2017 make the act of bestiality a crime of varying degrees, based on the nature of the crime.
According to Texas Penal Code § 21.09, a person commits a bestiality offense therein if they:
- Engages in an act involving contact between:
- The person’s mouth, anus, or genitals and the anus or genitals of an animal; or
- The person’s anus or genitals and the mouth of the animal;
- Fondles or touches the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful animal…including touching through clothing;
- Causes an animal to contact the seminal fluid of the person;
- Inserts any part of a person’s body or any object into the anus or genitals of an animal in a manner that is not a generally accepted…
A violation of this law constitutes a “state jail felony” in Texas; however, the charge and accompanying punishment has the potential to become more severe if the offense was committed in the presence of a minor under 18 years of age or if the act results in serious bodily injury or death of the animal. In this case, the offense becomes a felony in the second degree.
Mr. Nino has since been arraigned by Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Ramiro Guillen, who has formally charged him with one count of bestiality, a state jail felony, and was ultimately given a $1,500.00 pretrial release personal recognizance bond.
Mr. Nino was subsequently released to the custody of the United States Border Patrol for further processing due to his immigration status. Unfortunately, no word on how the cow is doing at this time.