![Jacob Heatlie Johnston leaving the Launceston Magistrates Court in August. Photo Nick Clark Jacob Heatlie Johnston leaving the Launceston Magistrates Court in August. Photo Nick Clark](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/181418411/270d054e-781a-436d-8781-5dbc63dbda00.jpg/r0_0_640_360_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A man who had sex with a goat on two separate occasions last year fronted the Tasmania Supreme Court in Launceston on Monday, September 4.
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Jacob Heatlie Johnston, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of bestiality when he appeared in the Launceston Magistrate Court in August.
One count occurred on June 10 at Branxholm and the other on November 3, 2022.
Both charges related to "sexual intercourse" with a goat.
Johnston, who was previously unrepresented, now had the counsel of defence lawyer Lucy Flanagan.
Ms Flanagan said Johnston would adhere to his guilty plea, but she required time to compose mitigation material.
Crown prosecutor Peter Sherriff agreed to this.
Justice Robert Pearce adjourned the matter until September 22 at 10am.
The Examiner reported last year that a man was seen on CCTV lifting the pet goat out of its yard and through a gate before taking it into a bathroom stall in a nearby campground on June 10 at about 2am.
The goat's owner made a formal complaint to the police the next day, alleging that the animal was sexually assaulted.
The maximum penalty under the Animal Welfare Act is 100 penalty units ($173 equals one penalty unit) and/or up to 12 months jail or up to 21 years for bestiality under the Criminal Code.
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