MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA— A retired UPS driver from Washington state is accused of making arrangements to have sex with animals on a farm in Maricopa County, Arizona.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said that James Allen Darland, 56, of Mount Vernon, Washington contacted an undercover detective who was posing as a farmer and owner of several animals in the Wickenburg, Arizona area.
Detectives say Darland requested to spend days on the farmer’s property solely for the purpose of having sex with the various animals including miniature horses, dogs and goats.
Darland also allegedly admitted to detectives that he was married and had been having sex with his neighbor’s horse, dogs and sheep in Washington for some time.
Darland told the undercover detective that he had just retired from UPS where he had worked for more than 23 years. He allegedly told detectives that he would often have sex with customers’ dogs while on his route, when the customers were not home. He also allegedly told detectives that he found stray dogs on his route and would use them for sexual gratification.
Undercover sheriff’s detectives arrested Darland after he told them about his encounters with animals. The conversation was videotaped. A portion of the video was released by the sheriff’s office. Darland was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Bestiality. His dog was seized after his arrest and will be taken to the Arizona Humane Society for evaluation.
This was the 9th bestiality arrest by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The crime is a felony in Arizona.
“We clearly confirmed his intentions to commit this crime by statements, recorded phone calls and videos, e-mails and actions witnessed by my detective, leaving no doubt in his mind that Darland fully intended to carry out his perversion by committing the crime of bestiality,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Arpaio said in a news release that bestiality is nothing to make light of. He quoted a study that says 96 percent of persons who engaged in bestiality also admitted to sexually abusing humans.
