The deerly departed

Some people will do just about anything when they're hard up for a little lovin', but this is ridiculous. Not to mention nasty.

A 20-year-old man received probation after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer. The sentence also requires Bryan James Hathaway to be evaluated as a sex offender and treated at the Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health in Duluth, Minn.

"The state believes that particular place is the best to provide treatment for the individual," Assistant District Attorney Jim Boughner said.

Okay, so that's pretty fucked up right there, but it gets worse. It turns out that he's tried this sort of thing before:

Hathaway's probation will be served at the same time as a nine-month jail sentence he received in February for violating his extended supervision.

He was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and two years of extended supervision on that charge as well as six years of probation for taking and driving a vehicle without the owner's consent.

Now, I'm not what you'd call a prude by any stretch of the imagination. I think consenting adults ought to be able to do whatever floats their nasty little boats. But bestiality is wrong. And bestiality with dead animals? That's a special kind of wrong. The kind of wrong that gets you on the express train straight to hell.

The judge in the case called Hathaway's behavior "disturbing." I think that qualifies as an Understatement of the Year candidate.