By Michael Donoghue, Vermont News First
A Williston man has pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts of animal cruelty after town police say they investigated a pornographic video of him having sex with a dog.
Michael R. Proulx, 35, of North Williston Road was released on conditions after his arraignment in Vermont Superior Court on Tuesday.
Williston Police, in conjunction with Vermont Fish and Wildlife Wardens, uncovered enough evidence to secure a search warrant from a state judge this week for Proulx’s residence.
Williston Police Detective Avery Lemnah outlined in a four-page court affidavit — sometimes in very graphic terms — why the criminal charges were needed in the bestiality case.
Senior Game Warden Asa Sargent said he received initial information about videos on bestiality websites showing Proulx having sex with a dog believed to be a large pit bull, court records note.
The tattoos of the suspect on the video matched those Proulx has on his arms legs and chest, Sargent said. There was evidence of open mouth kissing the dog, while also committing a sex act, court records note.
The investigation initially thought the case was out of Colchester, where Proulx worked for a traffic control firm, records show. After some legwork Fish and Wildlife determined the case was centered in Williston and was turned over to town police there.
Williston Police, who were accompanied by a licensed veterinarian during the court-approved raid on the home, seized a dog, a cat and a rat, police said.
The dog was in poor condition and might need to be euthanized, Lemnah said. The dog, which has blood in his urine, is 10 years old and has been in Proulx’s custody for 13 months, she said.
Investigators also seized electronics, multiple cellphones, laptops, sex toys, anal plugs, straps, chains and gags, Williston Police said.
Also found were two flags that had a red dog bone in the middle with white, blue and black diagonal stripes on them, police said.
“Upon researching the flag, it was discovered to be a Puppy Pride flag that is a symbol for the puppy play community, a subset of the kink and LGBTQ+ communities. This community commonly engages in role playing as puppies/dogs and/or handlers and trainers,” court records noted.
While independently the various items might not be a concern, the totality of the evidence seized would make “a reasonable and prudent person to believe these devices could be utilized on his dog in order to desensitize, train, adapt and physical alter in order to carry out acts…” Lemnah wrote.