Woman catches man accused of having sex with horse

A Conway woman who had video surveillance of a man having sexual intercourse with one of her horses said she found the suspect behind her barn Monday night and pointed a shotgun at his head until police arrived and arrested him.
Rodell Vereen, 50, of Longs, is charged with buggery and trespassing after Barbara Kenley, who leases Lazy B Stables on Coates Road in the Wampee section of Horry County, told officers she had video of the suspect having sex with a horse then wanted to catch him at her barn.

``That stable was my getaway, my stress relief,'' said Kenley, who has leased the stable for 20 years. ``Everybody has a place they like to go to get away. Now it is totally destroyed. It is the only thing I have in life.''

A family member said Wednesday that Vereen was diagnosed with a ``mental disease'' more than 10 years ago.

``He's supposed to be on medication but I don't believe he's been taking it,'' said Beulah Vereen, also a neighbor. ``He's not a violent man, I know.''

It is the second time Rodell Vereen, who works for a landscaping company, has been charged with having sex with a horse at Lazy B Stables. Vereen pleaded guilty to buggery on July 21, 2008, and was sentenced to three years' probation, ordered to undergo mental health counseling, and told not to go near Lazy B Stables after he was caught having sex with a horse on Thanksgiving Day of 2007, according to the 15th Judicial Circuit.

Vereen has also been registered as a sex offender since pleading to the buggery charge last year, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. He also was charged Wednesday with probation violation.

``I have a false sense of security right now,'' Kenley said. ``When they arrested him before, I thought that was the end of it. Now all of my insecurities are back. I can't go out there at certain times because I am afraid.''

Vereen will have a probation hearing at 9 a.m. Monday at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, according to Richard Laskill, a senior agent for the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

A judge probably will determine whether Vereen will serve the remainder of his three-year suspended sentence for the 2007 buggery charge.

``Hopefully he won't get out,'' Kenley said. ``My goal is to get him away from me and my property.''

Kenley, who lives four miles away from the stable, said she can't afford a security system for the stables. She said she spent several hundred dollars on the video surveillance system that was used to help identify Vereen.

``In 20 years I've never had a problem like this,'' Kenley said. ``I never knew people did such a thing.''

Kenley said Vereen was having sex with a 21-year-old horse named Sugar. Kenley said the horse is being treated for infections related to the incidents.

Kenley told officers she had video of Vereen ``having relations'' with one of her horses on July 19, according to a police report. ``I had given police surveillance video before and they weren't able to identify him,'' Kenley said. ``And I wanted to catch him firsthand. It was just a matter of time before I caught him.''

On Monday night, Kenley said she went to check on the horses and saw an unknown vehicle parked near her property.

Kenley found Vereen behind a barn where the horses are kept and pointed a shotgun at him. Kenley called police on her cell phone and waited for officers to arrive.

``He was very subdued,'' Kenley said. ``He was like ... cold. He may have been in shock.''

Kenley said she asked Vereen what he was doing at the barn and that he said he was looking for a bathroom.

``I told him he was full of crap,'' Kenley said. ``He apologized and said he didn't mean to hurt me.''

Vereen admitted to officers that he did have ``relations'' with a horse on July 19, the report shows. Officers reported that they viewed a video showing the suspect having intercourse with a horse.

Bail for Vereen is set at $30,000. He was being held Wednesday at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.