Case Report

Investigators staking out a sheep pen where two animals died of sexual assault said today they caught a man molesting a ewe. James Donald Ray, 38, is in custody on a probation violation pending charges of cruelty to animals and sexually assaulting animals for the attacks at the El Capitan High School pen. The livestock was being raised by students in the school's Future Farmers of America program, officials said. "It's pretty bizarre," San Diego County Sheriff's Department spokesman Lt. Ron Van Raaphorst said. Police began staking out the school's open-air pens in July, after sheep that died May 31 and July 4 "were discovered to have been sexually assaulted," officials said.

Caught in the act Detectives arrested Ray, an unemployed county resident who is not affiliated with the school, Saturday after he allegedly climbed into a pen and began having sex with one of the 3-foot-tall animals. San Diego County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Gayle Falkenthal said one of two prosecutors who deals with agricultural crimes will likely handle the case. "He's had similar cases, one recently involving a horse," she said. 'Really disturbing' Although this rural area about 13 miles east of San Diego has seen its share of agricultural crimes, from palm tree theft to cattle rustling, Falkenthal said the sheep attacks gave investigators pause. "They didn't know exactly what was going on," she said. "They were concerned that this activity might escalate toward some kind of violence toward the high school students."

Today, students and faculty were still struggling to come to grips with the incidents, Principal Nancy Peterson said. "It's really disturbing to the students because they work with these animals every day, and they hate to see them abused," she told APBnews.com. "This is hard for them to understand -- it's hard for anyone to understand."

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