AC_SPARTAN@ACSPARTAN1
A pervert who admitted an “unnatural connection” with horses as part of an animal sex abuse ring avoided jail yesterday — because of his age.
Joshua Lee-Paterson, 20, was let off with 225 hours’ unpaid work despite admitting bestiality at a farm in Cothal, Aberdeenshire.
Law chief Phillip Mann said the fiend, of nearby Balmedie, was spared because he was just 17 at the time of the three-month abuse.
But depraved pal Jordan Turnbull, 28, was sentenced to seven months after admitting intimate relations with two Shetland ponies.
Mark Findlater, 34, got 13 months after he pled guilty to sharing pics of the vile attacks with the public.
Passing sentence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, he said: “This is offending which society will find very offensive and disturbing.”
We told how the warped pals were snared after a tip-off sparked an undercover investigation by cops and the Scottish SPCA.
Turnbull and Lee-Paterson later admitted having an “unnatural connection” with the animals.
The court heard Shetland ponies Jack and Ruby had belonged to Findlater, of Kirriemuir, Angus.
He agreed a deal to sell the animals and rural plot to Lee-Paterson, who stayed in a caravan while he paid back in instalments.
The court heard Findlater was in a relationship with Turnbull and Lee-Paterson at different times.
Both men blamed him, claiming he controlled and manipulated them into attacking the horses.
Lee-Paterson said he was trying to protect the animals, who were abused in a small wooden stable between October and December 2018.
Prosecutor Colin Neilson told the court: “He said that Findlater had threatened to harm the horses if he didn’t carry out the acts.”
All of the depraved incidents were captured on a mobile phone.
Findlater, who has a past conviction over bestiality snaps, insisted he had not witnessed the sickening attacks and received the images on social media.
But Sheriff Mann told him: “You sent this obscene material to members of the public who shouldn’t have been subjected to such disgusting images. That’s very serious indeed.”
Lee-Paterson’s lawyer Stuart Murray revealed his client had been dumped by his fiancee over the past few weeks.
Turnbull, from Galashiels, Selkirkshire, had claimed his business would collapse if he went to jail — putting four jobs at risk.
His lawyer Matthew Patrick added: “There is no getting away from the fact this is seriously bizarre behaviour.”
Turnbull and Lee-Paterson, who fled court with a newspaper covering his face, were both put on the sex offenders register.