(06/13/17) - A Saginaw County man is facing life in prison, charged with the rare crime of having sex with a dog.

We do want to warn you before we go on, you may find the details of this case disturbing.

The man's attorney says he's innocent, but the charges were filed after the pit bull was examined, similar to a rape kit on people.

That exam led to the sodomy charges. Those charges could normally get someone 15 years in prison, but because 37-year-old Michael Czseiszperger has prior sex convictions, he could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

Czseiszperger is charged with one count of sodomy and enhanced count of a sexual delinquent person, which enhances the crime to a possible life sentence.

Police say the victim is a 3-year-old pit bull, a dog, that was owned by a former friend of Czeiszperger's.

“The person that reported has an ax to grind, it's an ex, the ex wife or ex girlfriend,” said John Melton, Czseiszperger’s attorney.

Jim Lang, of the Michigan State Police, says investigators went to great lengths to gather evidence in the case, even taking the dog to a forensic veterinarian.

“This is not a typical call that we receive,” he said. “The dog was examined to determine if there was any, if there was any indications that some sexual deviant behavior occurred with the animal.”

Saginaw County Animal Control Director Lisa Stoffel says using a forensic veterinarian in a criminal case like this has happened before when she worked in Alaska, but it's the first time in recent memory that one has been used in a criminal case in the Saginaw area.

Melton says the exam doesn't give prosecutors a slam dunk case.

“There was an examination of the dog by a veterinarian that was very inconclusive,” he said.

Stoffel says the dog was taken to the animal control center and is now with a foster family and is recovering from her injuries.

Czeiszperger has two previous sexual convictions involving children between the ages of 13 and 15. He is on the state's sex offender registry.

Melton says his client recently passed a polygraph about the allegations.

“He had voluntarily given a polygraph, we have given the results to the prosecutor's office,” he said.

Czeiszperger is free on a bond but cannot be around anyone under the age of 17 and can't own an animal.