A man accused of having sex with a sheep used in a Charleston nativity scene has struck a deal with Kanawha County prosecutors that allowed him to stay out of jail.
Joey Armstrong, 30, will serve two years of probation and be required to get some mental health care for breaking into a funeral home's manger scene and molesting an animal, according to court documents and his lawyer, public defender Stephen Kenney.
The deal, inked last month with little fanfare, will give Armstrong a chance to begin piecing together his life, Kenney said. He said his client was shaken up after his December 2002 arrest on charges of cruelty to animals, trespassing and destruction of property.
"It's not the sort of fame that anyone would seek," Kenney said of his client, who now lives in a Charleston homeless shelter. "You basically become an outcast everywhere you go. He's an outcast at the homeless shelter. He's very ashamed. He's filled with shame."
The deal came despite pressure from animal rights advocates to send Armstrong to jail.
A spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the group is "appalled" that Armstrong was getting off with what amounted to a slap on the wrist.
"We're outraged at this injustice and remain concerned for the safety of the people and animals in that community," said Martin Mersereau, a spokesman for the group.
Officials from the Kanawha County Prosecutor's Office were not immediately available to comment on the case.
Armstrong could have been sent to jail for more than a year if convicted of all the charges in the case. But as part of his plea agreement, he will be able to avoid jail if he behaves himself over the next two years.
Source:
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2003072211
Joey Armstrong, 30, will serve two years of probation and be required to get some mental health care for breaking into a funeral home's manger scene and molesting an animal, according to court documents and his lawyer, public defender Stephen Kenney.
The deal, inked last month with little fanfare, will give Armstrong a chance to begin piecing together his life, Kenney said. He said his client was shaken up after his December 2002 arrest on charges of cruelty to animals, trespassing and destruction of property.
"It's not the sort of fame that anyone would seek," Kenney said of his client, who now lives in a Charleston homeless shelter. "You basically become an outcast everywhere you go. He's an outcast at the homeless shelter. He's very ashamed. He's filled with shame."
The deal came despite pressure from animal rights advocates to send Armstrong to jail.
A spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the group is "appalled" that Armstrong was getting off with what amounted to a slap on the wrist.
"We're outraged at this injustice and remain concerned for the safety of the people and animals in that community," said Martin Mersereau, a spokesman for the group.
Officials from the Kanawha County Prosecutor's Office were not immediately available to comment on the case.
Armstrong could have been sent to jail for more than a year if convicted of all the charges in the case. But as part of his plea agreement, he will be able to avoid jail if he behaves himself over the next two years.
Source:
http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2003072211