A 43-year-old man has avoided jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting a Shetland pony in a shocking incident that left the animal’s owner devastated and a judge visibly disturbed. Damion Ogeare was captured on CCTV entering a stable on the property of Christine Woolley in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on the evening of January 24 last year. Prosecutors told Winchester Crown Court that Ogeare made a “beeline” for the stables before reappearing around ten minutes later without his trousers.

Footage showed Ogeare using a dog lead to restrain the pony, a mare named Cassieopia, during the incident. The same lead was later recovered at the scene. Prosecutor Tom Wright noted that concerns had previously been raised in the area, including another incident where a dog lead was found atop a local resident’s cow. Animal owner Christine Woolley said the attack had left her emotionally drained and distrustful. “Since the day I know it happened I have been unable to sleep until about 3am,” she told the court. “My horses are almost a part of me. To have one assaulted in such a degrading manner has completely ruined my trust in society.”

She also suggested the attack was not opportunistic but premeditated. “I also have no doubt that these acts are not only intentional, but also planned out. Damion clearly scoped out the area in which he wanted to target,” Woolley added. Despite the severity of the offence, Ogeare was handed an 18-month community order with 30 rehabilitation activity days.

Recorder Gordon Bebb, sentencing, acknowledged the disturbing nature of the crime. “Judges in court are used to most things, but sometimes certain crimes stop even a hardened judge in their tracks, and this is one of those offences,” he said. “Any right-thinking member of the public would be completely disgusted by what you did.”

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Ogeare was also ordered to pay £299.52 in court costs and was given a restraining order barring him from contacting Mrs. Woolley or visiting her property. The order will remain in place until further notice. Defending, Holly Fagan admitted the lack of mitigation. “There doesn’t seem much point in trying to rationalise something like this,” she said, explaining that Ogeare had been experiencing acute loneliness and isolation at the time. “He’s expressed a great deal of remorse and feels a deep sense of regret.”

Police arrested Ogeare later in the year after identifying him from the CCTV footage. DNA evidence recovered from the pony confirmed his involvement. A search of his residence uncovered items linked to the attack, including a baseball cap and the dog lead used to restrain the animal. Ogeare pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration of a living animal.