Bestiality porn involving horses, cows and dogs land unhappily married Devon man in court

A HUSBAND watched extreme images of people having sex with animals to cope with the strain of an unhappy marriage. Richard Blackmore says he was not sexually aroused by the images but found them a way of dealing with anxiety and depression. The 46-year-old was found with films and images which he downloaded from the internet on two different occasions, Exeter Crown Court was told. When police seized his laptop he bought another one and downloaded more images of bestiality involving horses, cattle and dogs. Blackmore, of Mount View, Feniton, near Honiton, admitted seven offences of possessing extreme pornography and was ordered to receive two years supervision. Sean Brunton, for the prosecution, said Blackmore was arrested after police raided his family home in Hazelwood Close, Honiton and seized a laptop on which they found 427 still and 18 movie images showing sex with animals. His home was searched again eight months later and another laptop was found with 434 more still images. He said: "He was interviewed and said he was married and his marriage went through highs and lows. He said he looked at normal pornography and when things were very bad he looked at images of bestiality. “He said it was not for sexual gratification although he had been aroused by the normal human pornography. He said he got the second computer after the police seized the first and accessed websites to download the images.” Mark Jackson, for the defense, said Blackmore had been experiencing anxiety and depression at the time he committed the offence and is now paying for counselling to address his problems. He stressed that none of the offences involved children. He said his client had lost his job as a result of the case but handed in a reference from a former workmate and a letter from his wife. He said: "What is going to keep him on the straight and narrow is the impact this has had on his family. His wife has come to court with him but is too upset to come into the courtroom. “Her letter says he has always been a good father and husband. He is so ashamed of what he has done and what he has put his family through.” Judge Graham Cottle told him: "The least said about this case the better. You entirely appreciate what you did was wrong and you are very sorry about it. “You are very remorseful and have taken steps to address the problems that underlay your offending.” The judge said he was making a supervision order because there is no programme available which deals specifically with viewing images of animals. He also made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which allows police to monitor Blackmore’s internet usage and ordered the destruction of the two laptops once family photographs have been removed and saved.