A Pittsfield man has been charged with sexually assaulting a dog, which left it paralyzed, and the canine later was euthanized by a veterinarian.
Christopher Colson Jr., 24, was arrested last week by the Pittsfield Police Department on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, Class C, and beastiality/cruelty to animals, Class D.
Luiz Rodriguez, the police officer who responded to the complaint, wrote in a probable cause affidavit filed in Somerset County Unified Court that at about 1 p.m. Sept. 18, Animal Control Officer Russell Craft received a call from the Fairfield Police Department asking that he go to Home Town Veterinary on Western Avenue in Fairfield because a veterinarian there believed a dog had been sexually assaulted and was paralyzed.
The veterinarian told Craft that a 6-year-old Airedale terrier named Sophie had been brought in by its owner who said she returned home that morning to find the dog in a room where Colson was staying. She reported that the dog could not walk, with its front legs sprawled out, and it could not stand. Colson denied knowing what happened to the dog, the report says.
The veterinarian did a complete medical exam, it says, and saw evidence of sexual assault, the details of which the Morning Sentinel is not citing because of the graphic and disturbing nature.
As the medical prognosis was that the dog’s complete back legs area paralysis was beyond medical repair , its owner made a decision to have her euthanized, the report says.
Colson, who is described in the police summons and complaint as being 6-foot-1-inches tall and weighing 140 pounds, appeared in court Sept. 22, where he was ordered to be placed in Somerset County Jail with $1,000 cash bail. His initial bail had been set at $50,000. He was still at the jail Monday , a jail spokesperson confirmed.
The original police charge against Colson was aggravated cruelty to animals, Class C, and beastiality/cruelty to animals, Class D, while the complaint filed in court says the charges are aggravated cruelty to animals and cruelty to animals.
Colson is to have no contact with the dog’s owner, and is prohibited from possessing or having any contact with domesticated animals, according to the court.
He was ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam. A dispositional conference for Colson has been set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12.
It is not entirely clear who is responsible for Colson or whether he is a ward of the state, how he came to live at the Pittsfield home and whether he was screened before being placed. The police affidavit says Colson has a case worker from an agency that works with people who have developmental and other issues and that case worker confirmed Colson has “mental health issues, including autism.” Colson was brought to the home in December by “Crisis Group,” according to the affidavit. It is not clear exactly what that entity is.
Messages left Thursday and Friday for the executive director of the agency cited in the affidavit were not returned.
Contacted Thursday, the dog’s owner was hesitant to speak about the case, saying she didn’t know what to say or whether she was allowed to talk about it.
“Honestly, I just want to move and just leave,” she said. “It’s awful.”
Asked about the circumstances of how and why Colson was brought to her home by “Crisis Group” as the police affidavit stated, she said: “I can say it was kind of set up that way and I just thought it would be a helping hand.”
Asked if the placement was state-related, she said she believed so.
“I just don’t want to get in trouble with the company,” she said.
She added that she won’t take anyone into her home again in that way.
“I kind of feel responsible,” she said. “Did I miss something? I don’t know. I don’t understand it. I mean, who would think that (would happen)?”
At that point, the phone connection was lost and she did not return another message left Thursday. On Friday, she declined to comment when reached by phone.
Wendell Skidgel, a Skowhegan attorney who was appointed to represent Colson in court following Colson’s initial appearance, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Maeghan Maloney, district attorney for Somerset and Kennebec counties, said in an email that she doesn’t know what “Crisis Group” refers to in the police affidavit and whether it is state-affiliated.
But a GoFundMe account set up for the woman and her husband who owned the dog, organized by someone who says she is the woman’s daughter, says her mother last year had joined a program through the state that assists people who are intellectually impaired or disabled, called shared living. “Out of the goodness of their hearts they wanted to give this young man a chance in the world and because my mother is older it was a way for her to stay home more and still make money (my stepfather who’s a similar age is still working).”
It also says: “My mom is taking the necessary legal matters to pick up the pieces and though the state is kind enough to have a program to help with the vet bills. As of now, there will be no other help financially through them. My mother had originally signed a 1 year contract to help take care of that young man but won’t even be paid the rest of the year.”
As of Friday afternoon, $1,455 had been raised toward a $7,000 goal.
Craft, the animal control officer, said Thursday that he is limited in what he can say about the case, but he believes Pittsfield police Chief Vicente Morris plans to issue a press release about it on Monday. Morris did not return phone messages left at the police department Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, dozens of people have posted comments on social media about Colson’s arrest, with some saying they fear he will be released from jail and others expressing anger about what he is alleged to have done, and heartbreak about what the dog endured and what its family is going through.
Maine law is specific when describing animal cruelty and aggravated animal cruelty. The definition for committing bestiality includes that a person engages in a sexual act with an animal for the purpose of that person’s sexual gratification.
A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals if that person, in a manner manifesting a depraved indifference to animal life or suffering, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes extreme physical pain to an animal, causes the death of an animal, or physically tortures an animal.
