CORNELIUS, OR — Washington County deputies on Tuesday arrested a man who is accused of sexually assaulting a horse named Ellie at a farmhouse between Hillsboro and Cornelius, off Tualatin Valley Highway.

Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, was taken to Washington County Jail and charged with burglary, theft, and the sexual assault of an animal. His bail is set at $1,000. Washington County Sheriff's deputies began investigating the alleged equine rape on April 19, after a homeowner in the 200-block of Northwest 334th Avenue called police to report that someone had been in her horse stable and moved things around — including her horse — the day before.

According to WCSO spokesman Jeff Talbot, the owner found her black horse Ellie tied up in a way she had not left her. Nothing appeared to be stolen, however. Later, after further investigation, a veterinarian reportedly found the horse had been sexually violated.

Neighbors and the homeowner reportedly described the suspect as a man matching Duyck's description. Known to law enforcement as a transient in the Forest Grove and Cornelius area with a criminal history in Washington County, Duyck was found sitting in a car parked at the Cornelius Walmart on April 24.

During the subsequent interview with deputies, Duyck reportedly admitted to being at the stables for the purpose of finding work. Later, he said he also had "sexual contact with the horse," Talbot said.

Duyck was previously arrested for burglary and theft in 2015; he was also arrested for unlawfully applying graffiti in 2017.

Evidently, this isn't the first case of animal sex abuse in Washington County in recent years either. Manning resident Tony Hall-Rivas was arrested in 2013 after a months-long investigation into the repeated sexual abuse of possibly two horses at a farm in the 47500-block of Northwest Sunset Highway.