Men filmed themselves trying to artificially inseminate pet dog

Two men made a "crude and amateurish" attempt to inseminate a dog - and filmed the act. A judge said when he first saw the footage he thought it showed "some sort of sexual perversion".

The attempts of Sam Hudacek and Troy Bowyer to impregnate the dog came to light after police executed a drugs search warrant and found the video on a mobile phone. The phone also showed Hudacek had been involved in dealing cocaine.

Merthyr Crown Court heard officers executed a drugs warrant at a house in Newport in October last year and seized a phone belonging to Hudacek. When the messages on the phone were examined they showed Hudacek had been operating as "a runner, a facilitator" supplying cocaine over the previous three months. Among the messages on the phone were "text bombs" sent to multiple contacts such as "Active all day. Seven days a week. Fast drops". The following month Hudacek was arrested at the pub where he was staying - as officers entered his room he threw a number of small objects from the window which were recovered from the flat roof below and which turned out to be six wraps of cocaine.

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The court heard that also on Hudacek's phone was a video unrelated to drug dealing - this video showed a female bull dog standing on her front legs with her back legs being held up and 32-year-old Bowyer moving his fingers in and out of the dog. A syringe could also be seen in the footage. The court heard the footage was being shot by Hudacek and he could be heard laughing and giving Bowyer "encouragement" to carry on. The court heard the footage appeared to show "some kind of artificial insemination" of the bitch. When interviewed about the video footage Hudacek answered "no comment" to all questions asked while Bowyer accepted it was him on the footage but denied causing the dog unnecessary suffering.

Sam Hudacek, 24, of Albert Avenue, Maindee, Newport, had previously pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of cocaine and to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and Troy Bowyer, of Aberthaw Drive, Newport, had previously pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Hudacek has previous convictions for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Defence counsel for Hudacek said the defendant had moved to the UK from Slovakia as a 12-year-old boy and initially struggled at school in Newport as he could not speak English. When his parents later returned home, however, he decided to stay in Wales. He said "there are people who think he is capable of a lot more" and said the defendant wants to support his partner and be a better role model. He said his client's role in the animal offence had been "peripheral". Counsel for Bowyer said the dog belonged to the co-defendant Hudacek and his client had been "asked to assist with the artificial insemination". He said Smith had a long-term partner of 18 years with whom he had two children with a third was on the way, although the couple did not actually live together. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here

Judge Simon Mills described the matters involving the dog as "frankly unpleasant", and said when he first saw the footage he "thought there was some sort of sexual perversion going on" but in reality it was a "crude and amateurish attempt at artificial insemination" which would have caused the dog considerable discomfort. Turning to Hudacek's drug offending he said Class A drugs were a "serious menace" to communities and said sitting as a judge in courts across south Wales day-in day-out meant he saw the harm they caused.

With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea to the drug trafficking charge Hudacek was sentenced to three years in prison, and the judge sentenced him to one month to run concurrently for the animal welfare offence. He will serve up to half the three years in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Bowyer was given a 24 month community order for the animal offence and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and pay a £500 fine. Judge Mills said to him: "Do not behave in this way in respect of a dog again." The judge declined to make orders banning the defendants from owning dogs.

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