Down engineer pleads guilty to having sex with dog

A Co Down civil engineer on Monday admitted having sex with an animal, believed to be a dog, as well as possession and distribution of child pornography.

Standing in the dock of Newry Crown Court in a blue suit, 43-year-old Garth Michael Williams admitted two counts of allowing himself to be penetrated by a living animal on a date unknown between February 1st, 2009 and April 4th 2014, saying simply "guilty" in a quiet voice.

In addition Williams, originally from South Africa but who was living in Co Down at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of distributing indecent images of children, 17 counts of possessing or making indecent images of children and two further charges of possessing extreme pornography, all alleged to have occurred on various dates between October 10th, 2011 and April 4th, 2014.

Following the guilty pleas Williams, previously from the Mill Road, Ballyroney in Banbridge but now with an address at the Station Road in Portstewart, was remanded back into custody and will be sentenced at the end of May when probation and other reports will have been filed.

Adjourning passing sentence, Judge Kevin Finnegan QC advised Williams to “be frank” with those tasked with compiling the reports.