The following article contains descriptions of a disturbing nature that may be offensive to some readers and/or inappropriate for children. Therefore, the content in this article is intended for mature audiences only.
According to court documents obtained by the Winn Parish Journal, Ronnie Glen Milstead of Winnfield has been sentenced to serve five years without hard labor in a sentencing hearing following being found guilty in Sexual Abuse of an Animal trial.
Milstead was tried on October 26, 2021. The state presented a video of the defendant in a sexual act with the family dog “Sally Mae” as evidence during the trial. The jury reached a unanimous decision after deliberating for approximately three minutes, according to 8th JDC District Attorney Chris Nevils.
Before sentencing, Milstead made this statement to the court, “Yes, Ma’am. The reason that I did what I did in court, I apologize for what I did do it was certainly uncalled for, but the reason I did what I did is for the simple reason I asked my wife, we was having some problems, marital problems, and get this straight I have never cheated on her, and I’ll take a lie detector test to prove that, but I ask her for a divorce and she insisted no. So about two weeks went by, and I just, I kept on, “I want a divorce.”, and she said, “You’re not gonna get – I’m not gonna give you that divorce” period. And I said, “Well, when they when they bring me the paperwork … “, she said, “I won’t sign it.” I said, “I’ll sign it for you then.”, and she said, “You do, I’ll kill you.” It was dropped. I figured if I made look of what I did, which I didn’t actually do, but it looked like I did; if I done that, she would grant me the divorce, if she had seen the tape cause I knew it was videoing, I knew she was videoing. And that’s exactly why I did what I did, and that’s all I can say.”
Nevils addressed the court after Milstead’s statement. During Nevils’s address, he stated, “…This man is a convicted sex criminal. He has an obvious issue with control, abuse, and with deviant behavior. And, I hope the court can recall that the only thing that this case was about was a video which showed a hundred percent absolutely that this man sodomized a dog.” Nevils also described the defendant as having no remorse and the video as “horror pornography” while addressing the court.
Milstead has two additional pending offenses for which he will be tried in the future. The pending offenses are First Degree Rape of a Juvenile under 13 years of age and Crimes Against Nature. Both crimes are described as being of a sexual and or violent nature. Court documents state that the Crimes Against Nature charge results from marrying and having sexual intercourse in Winn Parish with his biological daughter. The victim in the First Degree Rape of a Juvenile charge was Milstead’s biological granddaughter.
Jonathan McDow was Milstead’s court-appointed attorney. In response to Nevils’s comments, McDow stated, “Your Honor, Mr. Milstead is a first time offender as Mr. Nevils has pointed out and the other charges that Mr. Milstead is charged with he is innocent until proven guilty and the court should not take into account the other charges that he is charged with cause he is technically innocent until proven guilty, and he is a first time offender, Judge.”
During sentencing 8th Judicial Court Judge Anastasia Wiley stated, “…The offender knew or should have known that the victim of the offense was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance due to the victim being an animal incapable of defending itself or even speaking for itself. The offender used actual violence in the commission of the offense as it was sexual abuse of a household dog with sexual penetration of the dog.”
The sentence imposed by Judge Wiley was the maximum allowed under Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:89.3:
- You shall relinquish custody of all animals
- You’re not to harbor, own, possess, or exercise control over any animal for five years.
- You’re not to reside in any household where an animal is present; engage in any occupation, whether paid or unpaid, involving animals.
- You’re not to participate in a volunteer position at any establishment where animals are present for five years.
- You must undergo a psychological evaluation for sex offenders and participate in any recommended psychological treatment. In addition, you should pay any cost associated with such evaluation or treatment.
- If at any time, after your conviction, you are released on parole, the committee on parole shall require you, as a condition of parole, to participate in a sex offender program as defined by Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:828 A 2 b.
- You are to serve five years, without hard labor, in the custody of the local sheriff and you are given credit for the time you’ve served.
You can read the court transcript by downloading the document below.
Be advised this document contains descriptions of a disturbing nature that may be offensive to some readers and/or inappropriate for children.
