A Rhondda Cynon Taf man has been disqualified from owning, keeping or transporting horses after he admitted sexually abusing horses in a prosecution brought by the RSPCA.
Corey Coleman of Rhondda Cynon Taf, was also handed a suspended prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to four offences under the Animal Welfare Act on 9 April at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court.
The offences, which had been captured on CCTV and took place in June and July last year (2024) included causing unnecessary suffering to stallions Benny and Bear by subjecting them to a combination of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
He also admitted to failing to meet the needs of Benny and Bear to protect them from pain, suffering, injury and disease and also to a bay mare named Narla who was in season at the time of the offences and was exposed to a risk of injury from the stallions.
He was sentenced on Wednesday 2 July at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court to an eight-week* prison sentence suspended for 12 months, 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and he was disqualified from owning, keeping or transporting horses for five years.
Coleman was ordered to pay a £120 fine, £154 victim surcharge and a contribution of £200 to the RSPCA’s costs.
In mitigation it was heard that he didn’t think he was harming the horses but accepted after reading the vet evidence that he caused them to suffer.
The court heard that the case related to three horses, a palomino stallion called Benny, a bay mare with white markings called Narla and a bay colt called Bear.
Concerns were raised when Coleman was injured by one of the stallions on 27 June and CCTV was reviewed to establish the cause of the incident which left the defendant with a broken back.
The court heard that subsequent footage showed the defendant still abusing horses, even with a broken back and whilst wearing a back brace. The footage also showed children had been in the vicinity whilst Coleman was carrying out one of the attacks.
On 31 July last year, police, the RSPCA and a vet attended the yard at Tonyrefail and identified the three horses seen on the CCTV. They were examined by a vet and luckily were found to have no physical injuries from the abuse.
In a witness statement written by RSPCA Inspector Keith Hogben he said that outside the stable where Benny was kept was a plastic container which he was told belonged to Corey Coleman.
He said: “In this container was a bottle of baby lotion that was also seen in the CCTV videos, this baby lotion bottle was photographed by myself in situ.”
A report from an independent expert vet was provided to the court – who reviewed sections of CCTV footage from 27 June, 15 July and 29 July.
The vet said the key footage is from 15 July which shows “clearly what Mr Coleman doing to the stallion”.
The vet report states: “In this footage it is notable that Mr Coleman is using a mare who appears to be in season positioned outside the stallion’s stable to tease and arouse the stallion before he then enters the stallion’s stable and masturbates the stallion which is clearly shown on the footage. He is also shown inserting his fingers into the anus of the stallion.
“It is also notable that Mr Coleman repeatedly offers his bare forearm to the stallion to nuzzle and mouth on.
“The same behaviours are shown on the videos from the other two dates but on these occasions Mr Coleman interacts with a stallion who is stabled out of the CCTV footage so whilst it is possible to observe Mr Coleman’s interactions with the mare who he positions outside the stallion’s stable it is not possible to see what interactions he is having with the stallion.
“It is however possible to see that he repeatedly offers his bare forearm to the stallion to nuzzle and mouth as he does on the footage from the 15 July.”
The vet concluded that: “It is my expert opinion that the CCTV shows Mr Coleman sexually abusing both stallions and that in doing so he has caused them both to suffer unnecessarily as shown by their aversive behaviour in moving away from him and circling around from him.”
He added that in his expert opinion based on the evidence supplied to him “that this abuse has been conducted over a prolonged period of time as the horses were conditioned to this abuse”.
RSPCA Deputy Chief Inspector – and Investigating officer in this case, Gemma Cooper said: “Following an examination by a vet thankfully the horses were found to be okay despite having to endure this abuse and suffering.“We’d like to thank everyone involved – in what has been a harrowing case.”
