Man jailed for having sex with Shetland pony abandons sentence appeal

A man jailed for having sex with a Shetland pony at a north-east farm has abandoned his sentence appeal bid.

Jordan Turnbull, 28, was jailed for seven months and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for 10 years for his part in the depraved chain of events.

His sentence appeal was due to call at a hearing of the Court of Criminal Appeal today in front of two judges.

However, it didn’t call as the appeal has been abandoned.

Both Turnbull and Joshua Lee-Paterson, 20, each admitted bestiality with separate horses at Cothal Farm in Fintray.

Turnbull’s offence was committed between October and December 2018, while Lee-Paterson’s took place between October and November the same year.

Turnbull claimed he was pressured into offence

Although Turnbull, from Galashiels, was jailed, Lee-Paterson was given 18 months supervision and 225 hours as well as being placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for 18 months.

A third male, Mark Findlater, was jailed for 13 months and two weeks, after he admitted sending images of the sickening acts to a number of addresses in Dyce and elsewhere, and even to The Press and Journal.

All three men were known to each other, with Turnbull and Findlater having been in a relationship for about a year up until December 2018.

At the time, the Shetland ponies – named Jack and Ruby – were owned by Findlater.

During his sentencing hearing lawyer Mathew Patrick, appearing for Turnbull, said his client had been pressured into committing the offence.