Man caught having sex with a cow after farmer beefed up surveillance avoids jail

• Liam Brown, 25, snuck into cowshed at cattle farm in Burton, Dorset
• He was caught with his hands either side of a calf with his trousers down 

A depraved pervert who was caught sneaking into a cowshed and having sex with a calf by a farmer’s beefed up surveillance has today avoided jail.

Farmer Ian Farwell found Liam Brown, 25, with his trousers down, hands on either side of a calf, and his hips moving backward and forwards.

Brown had triggered an alarm in the early hours of the night and ran off from the cattle farm in Burton, near Christchurch, Dorset. He jumped several gates only to land in another cow pen where he was trampled on by the animals. 

He was caught crying on the ground by Mr Farwell, whose family have owned the farm for 144 years. Brown’s father had previously worked there as a tractor driver for 17 years.

A DNA sample taken from the calf proved sexual intercourse had taken place on June 12 last year.

Liam Brown, 25, snuck into a cowshed in Burton, Dorset, where he was caught with his trousers down and his hands on either side of a calf

Farmer Ian Farwell’s family had devised a plan to catch the pervert in the act after they realised something wasn’t right with their herd

Brown admitted the offence and said he felt ‘shame and embarrassment’. He was ordered to pay Mr Farwell £600 compensation by a judge who called it a ‘very alarming, bizarre and worrying case’.

Mr Farwell suspected his cows were being ‘interfered with’ for some time as there had been a number of suspicious incidents before.

READ MORE: Primary school teacher, 61, was killed when cow went into ‘fight mode’ and tossed her over gate in front of her husband, daughter and grandchildren, court hears 

They had found surgical gloves and items of clothing left behind and several young calves had died in unexplained circumstances.

Mr Farwell, his wife Tracey, son Ralph and daughter Emily devised a plan to catch the pervert and installed CCTV.

On June 12 Mr Farwell heard one of the calves making a ‘distinctive distressed sound’. He checked the CCTV, saw that there was someone in the barn and called his father.

Matthew Mortimer, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court today: ‘The family devised a plan as to what to do if someone was caught in the act, they would assemble surrounding the gates to ensure they could not escape then flick on the light.

‘They believed they may only get one shot.

‘When a cow is distressed it makes quite a distinctive noise. At 11.45pm on June 12 Ralph awoke hearing a calf making that distinctive noise.

‘He went to get reception on his phone, viewed the CCTV and saw a figure chasing a calf with what looked like a belt in his hand.

‘He called his dad and told him he was there.

The cattle farm, near Christchurch, has been owned by the Farwell family for 144 years

Brown (pictured leaving Bournemouth Crown Court today) admitted the offence and felt ‘shame and embarrassment’. He was ordered to pay Mr Farwell £600 compensation by a judge who called it a ‘very alarming, bizarre and worrying’

When Brown (pictured leaving Poole magistrates’ court in August) was caught he put his ‘erect penis’ back in his trousers and fled

‘Emily and Ian Farwell moved to cover the entrance to the parlour. Emily saw the defendant with both arms around the animal and his trousers slightly lowered. She turned the light on.

‘They saw the male figure’s hips moving back and forward, clearly having sex with the animal.

‘He put his erect penis back in his jeans and attempted to escape.’

Brown was found crying on the floor and said ‘sorry I’ve f***** up’. 

‘They asked if he had left the calf tied up and he said no he had finished and untied the calf,’ Mr Mortimer told the court.

Brown suffered an ankle injury in the trampling and was taken away by police.

Reading a victim impact statement from Mr Farwell, he said: ‘I knew something was not right but could not work out what was going on.

‘Calves were becoming poorly and dying for no apparent reason. We had a well-trusted supplier but made demands on them to make checks.

‘But it was due to the unthinkable actions of the defendant. The animals are really important to me, seeing them distressed was soul-destroying.

‘It put a real strain on the family, we all blamed each other but the truth was something we could not comprehend.’

Brown, of Grosvenor Garden, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to sexual penetration with a living animal and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

The court heard he had no previous convictions and shown genuine remorse.

Olivia McGonigle, defending, said: ‘He doesn’t live anywhere near the farm and has no intention of working with livestock. He is living with his mother, but there is the possibility of him moving in with his girlfriend, who has been a very supportive person.

The Farwell family had found surgical gloves and items of clothing left behind and several young calves had died in unexplained circumstances

Mr Farwell suspected his cows were being ‘interfered with’ for some time as there had been a number of suspicious incidents before

‘He has expressed how remorseful he is. He is distressed by the pain he has caused.’

She said Brown had no qualifications but was working with an agency and had been doing night shifts stacking shelves.

Judge Keith Cutler sentenced him to a three-year community order with rehabilitation requirements and 150 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay £600 compensation to the Farwells.

He also made a disqualification order, preventing him from keeping livestock for ten years.

Judge Cutler said: ‘This is a very alarming, bizarre and worrying case. I am sure you will look back on it not only with shame and embarrassment but also with the resolve this will never happen again.

‘Your actions did cause unnecessary suffering and distress to these animals..’

He said a long community order would be ‘more constructive’ than a short prison sentence.

But speaking after the case, Mrs Farwell said: ‘I think he should have gone to prison. It was a horrendous time for us. He told police it was going on for seven years on and off.

‘It was my job to feed the calves, I’d feed them twice a day. They would be fine when I left them at night and then I would find them ill in the morning and struggling to breathe.

‘I thought they had pneumonia so I was trying to treat them for that but it was actually because he was strangling them with his belt.’

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