Man pleads guilty to sexual misconduct, gets 6 years
A man who recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with horses and dogs was sentenced to six years in an Arkansas prison Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.
Ryan Danyl McDonald, 38, pleaded guilty to 27 crimes involving animals at a hearing Tuesday morning before Miller County Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson with the help of Little Rock lawyer Bobby Digby, who was standing in for Little Rock lawyer Bill James. Of the offenses to which McDonald pleaded guilty, 18 are felonies and nine are misdemeanors. All of the offenses involve obscene videos of McDonald with dogs and horses discovered on his cellphone following a November 2015 arrest near a Genoa, Ark., miniature horse farm where McDonald admitted to engaging in sexual misconduct with a mare.
The 18 felonies involve videos which McDonald shared with others or uploaded to the internet while the nine misdemeanors involve nine videos portraying sex with horses and dogs which investigators do not believe were shared.
“We are pleased this matter could be resolved without asking a jury of Miller County citizens to view such disturbing material,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell.
As part of his plea agreement, McDonald was sentenced to six-year prison terms for nine of the felony counts that will run concurrently to one another. Six-year sentences were levied on the other nine felonies as well, but imposition of sentence on those terms is suspended. That means McDonald could be ordered to serve more time in prison if he re-offends while the suspended sentences are running. If McDonald is paroled before serving the full six years of prison time, the suspended sentences will not begin to run until his parole has expired.
McDonald had been free on a $38,000 bail bond until last week. Mitchell filed a petition to revoke McDonald’s bond because he repeatedly violated a court order requiring him to remain on house arrest and to avoid places with animals. According to the petition, McDonald visited the home of a friend who owns dogs in violation of his bond.
McDonald will be held in the Miller County jail until he is taken to the Arkansas Department of Correction.