{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-525.137","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 525.137","heading":"Sexual crimes against an animal.","body":"(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Animal\" means any nonhuman creature; and\n(b) \"Sexual contact\" means any act committed between a person and an animal\nfor the purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, abuse, or financial gain\ninvolving:\n1. Contact between the sex organs or anus of one and the mouth, sex\norgans, or anus of another;\n2. The insertion of any part of the animal's body into the vaginal or anal\nopening of the person; or\n3. The insertion of any part of the body of a person or any object into the\nvaginal or anal opening of a n animal without a bona fide veterinary or\nanimal husbandry purpose.\n(2) A person is guilty of sexual crimes against an animal if he or she:\n(a) Engages in sexual contact with an animal;\n(b) Advertises, solicits, offers, or accepts the offer of an animal, or possesses,\npurchases, or otherwise obtains an animal, with the intent that the animal be\nsubject to sexual contact; or\n(c) Causes, aids, or abets another person to engage in sexual contact with an\nanimal.\n(3) Sexual crimes against an animal is a Class D felony.\n(4) Nothing in this section shall apply to:\n(a) Accepted veterinary practices;\n(b) Artificial insemination of an animal for reproductive purposes;\n(c) Accepted animal husbandry practices, including grooming, raising, breeding,\nor assisting with the birthing process of animals or any other procedure that\nprovides care for an animal; or\n(d) Generally accepted practices related to the judging of breed conformation.\n(5) In addition to the penalty imposed in subsection (3) of this section, the court shall\norder a person convicted of violating this section to:\n(a) Relinquish custody of all animals under the person's control. If the person\nconvicted of violating this section is not the owner of the animal that was the\nsubject of the violation, then the animal shall be returned to the owner of the\nanimal. An animal returned to an owner under this section shall not be spayed\nor neutered prior to being returned;\n(b) Not harbor, own, possess, or exercise control over any animal, reside in any\nhousehold where animals are present, or work or volunteer in a place where\nthe person has unsupervised access to animals for a minimum of five (5) years\nafter completion of the imposed sentence;\n(c) Attend an appropriate treatment program or obtain psychiatric or\npsychological counseling, at the person's expense; and\n(d) Reimburse the agency caring for the animal for reasonable costs incurred for\nthe care and treatment of the anim al from the date of impoundment until the\ndisposition of the criminal proceeding.","path":["KRS Chapter 525"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49351","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:04Z","sha256":"0bb1f6ae883bc6d6a1440489063391bac4e22bc699019df68d75fe168f7ffed9","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-525.135","next":"us-ky/krs-525.140"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}