A man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a dog in Fairfield.
Christopher Colson Jr., 24, was charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals on Monday in Somerset County Superior Court. He allegedly sexually assaulted a dog that had to be euthanized because of its injuries.
Colson was left alone with Sophie, a 6-year-old Airedale terrier, on Sept. 18, at the Fairfield home he was living in, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in court by Pittsfield police.
The alleged sexual assault left the dog’s back legs paralyzed and the dog’s owner made the decision to have her euthanized because Sophie was beyond medical repair, court records said.
A necropsy will be performed and the dog had a sexual assault test kit done, Russell Craft, an animal control officer for several nearby towns, said Friday.
The case is “disgusting,” Craft said. He said he doesn’t encounter cases as extreme as this, and that he typically deals with animal cruelty cases but the bestiality portion is rare.
Colson moved into the Fairfield home in December through a placement from what court records call a “crisis group.” He had no relation to the people who owned the dog.
In the two weeks before the assault, he was trying to get the dog alone in his room, court records said. Colson also told Craft that he disliked male dogs and only liked female dogs.
Colson was referred for a mental competency examination to determine if he is able to understand and proceed with the court process, according to records.
He was granted a $1,000 cash bond, which he has not posted as of Friday afternoon.