A man has been given a suspended sentence for encouraging his girlfriend to have sex with a dog.

Michael Smith made videos of Gwen Kerr’s activity with the Staffordshire bull terrier called Tank at her home in Queen Street, Chickenley, Dewsbury, and later took them to social services claiming he was concerned for her.

Kerr, 55, admitted having sex with an animal. Smith, 64, of Princess Road, Chickenley, was found guilty by a jury of aiding and abetting her and also of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

Sentencing the pair at Leeds Crown Court Judge James Spencer QC said: “I’m quite satisfied, Michael Smith, you were the organiser and root cause of this particular offending.

“You used and abused your friend Gwen Kerr to be the object of this sexual activity so you must bear the principal blame.” He said there was no mitigation since he had taken his case to trial.

He gave Smith 12 months in prison suspended for 12 months and gave Kerr a conditional discharge for 12 months telling her: “Don’t do it again.”

Smith claimed to the jury he thought Kerr must be on drugs and only wanted to prove her strange behaviour and was not acting for any sexual gratification when he pressed record on his camcorder.

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The jury, who had to watch two four-minute videos of the activity during the trial, rejected his account.

Mark McKone, prosecuting, told the jury in opening that it was the Crown’s case Smith had encouraged Kerr to have sex with the dog, filmed it and that was supported by Smith saying at one point “let him take it” and tapping Kerr on the buttocks during the sexual activity.

He did not accept Smith had a legitimate reason for being in possession of such images.

Mr McKone said matters came to light when Smith went to Huddersfield social services on May 27 last year and showed a team leader the footage on a camcorder.

He said he had been in an on/off relationship with Kerr for 20 years and had taken the footage some weeks previously.

The jury heard Smith told the social worker he was worried about Kerr saying a drug dealer had been giving her amphetamines and she had been put to work as sex worker.

She told him she would have to report the footage to the police. Smith denied he made two films saying he only filmed once and did not know how more footage got on the camcorder but Judge Spencer said it was clearly Smith’s hand on the footage at one point.