MCSO: Man came to Ariz. for 'sex acts' with horse

Undercover sheriff's deputies arrested a Pennsylvania man Friday night on suspicion he traveled to Arizona to have sex with a horse.

Michael Crawford, 68, landed in Phoenix believing he would meet with a horse owner he'd been corresponding with online, according to a statement released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Crawford hoped the fictitious owner would allow Crawford to engage in "perverted" sex acts with an animal, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said at a press conference Sunday.

Crawford posted an ad on a popular website soliciting a willing horse owner, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Investigators in the Animal Crimes Investigations Unit opened the case in October and corresponded with Crawford via e-mail and phone-call conversations.

Many exchanges graphically detailed what Crawford intended to do once he arrived in Arizona. In an e-mail released by the Sheriff's Office, Crawford said he was looking forward to the visit and described his desires.

Crawford arrived late Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where he was met by deputies. They took Crawford to a trailer furnished by a posse volunteer and located near Southern Avenue and Avondale Boulevard in Tolleson, where Crawford was shown two ponies.

Following the equines' presentation, Crawford was arrested and booked into Maricopa County Jail on suspicion of a bestiality charge, a Class 6 felony.

Arpaio said Crawford told deputies he didn't understand why he was taken into custody, because he had not committed any sex acts with the Tolleson horses. But Crawford told deputies he had engaged in acts of bestiality since 1970, Arpaio said.

"This is animal cruelty; there is not enough teeth in the law for animal cruelty," Arpaio said. "He would have gotten away with it if he'd picked the wrong county and the wrong sheriff."

Arpaio said this is the eighth time Maricopa County sheriff's deputies have made a bestiality arrest in the past five years.