Judge Hatton said it wasn’t an isolated act, it was "a well-planned and deliberate descent into bestiality.”
Prosecutor Michael Collins told the court that the police found 993 internet searches on Ghani’s phone about sex acts with animals, especially horses.
In August, 2018, the pony’s owners, a mother and daughter, became concerned about things found in the horses’ field shelter. There was a till receipt, a torch, a cucumber, a scrubbing brush and a bag of carrots.
The following month, the pony’s tail had hairs out of place, there was tape on it and a greasy substance on her back end. Black tape and bandage was found nearby and a lump of sugar, not something the owners would feed to their horses.
They reported matters to the police and the pony was examined by a vet. DNA was a match for Ghani.
A police officer on patrol in the area then saw a blue Toyota Yaris parked near the field. Inside the vehicle was a large cucumber, baby oil and a bag of carrots.
Then a black rucksack found in the field was found to contain apples and carrots, biscuits, rope and silver tape.
The Yaris was traced to Ghani who was arrested but said he had done nothing wrong. He told investigating officers he ‘loved the wild’ and would go out at night to watch owls and foxes.
When asked what the rope was for, he explained that it was to hoist himself up into trees to look at owls.
He made no comment when told that his DNA had been found.
He already had 7 convictions for 17 offences, mainly relating to drink, drug and driving offences.
Jonathan Turner, Ghani’s barrister, conceded there was ‘little positive’ to be said about the offence except that the pony wasn’t injured.
Ghani was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he visited the field and had been seen by a psychiatrist who did not find him to be mentally ill.
Judge Hatton said Ghani had denied the offence up until the day of his trial although the evidence against him was overwhelming.
He had made several visits to reconnoitre the field and brought food to make the pony more familiar of him. This demonstrated some planning and the very large number of internet searches on his phone showed his interest in bestiality with horses.
Although there had been a delay to sentence, Ghani could have been dealt with 18 months ago if he had pleaded guilty earlier.
The maximum prison sentence for such an offence is two years, but Judge Hatton decided that Ghani’s sentence after a trial would have been 12 months and that could be reduced to 10 months because of his last minute guilty plea.
Ghani, who used the cars to visit the animals, was banned from driving for 29 months and because he had committed a sexual offence he must now register with the police as a sex offender for the next 10 years. He was also ordered to pay £110 compensation relating to the vet’s bill.
The British Freedom Party would bring back CAPITAL PUNISHMENT for BESTIALITY!
Anyone who sexually abuses a vulnerable animal MUST be taken off of our streets FOREVER.