Muncie police: Twice-convicted molester sexually abused dog

MUNCIE — A twice-convicted Muncie child molester stands accused of sexually assaulting a dog.

Andrew Allen “Uncle Andy” Shinnock, 34, will be arrested on a preliminary charge of bestiality, a felony, upon his release from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, city police Sgt. Brent Brown said Thursday.

City police were called to Shinnock’s apartment, in the 1200 block of West First Street, during the pre-dawn hours Wednesday. Another man living there reported he had returned home to find Shinnock having sex with one of two dogs living there — a one-year-old female pit bull mix.

According to a police report, Shinnock acknowledged having sex with the animal, and also indicated it wasn’t the first time.

The Muncie man was taken to the hospital that morning after suggesting he might harm himself, authorities said.

Brown said the investigation was continuing Thursday. The dog alleged to have been assaulted and a second canine — a male pit bull-retriever mix — were placed in the care of the Muncie Animal Shelter.

Shelter superintendent Phil Peckinpaugh said Thursday both dogs had been examined by a veterinarian who did DNA swabs as a result of the allegations of abuse. Both animals were found to have fleas and tapeworms, he said.

The victimized dog — named “Lottie” by shelter employees — is a “very, very sweet” animal and considered “highly adoptable,” Peckinpaugh said.

“She appears very friendly today,” he said. “Yesterday, she was very scared.”

The shelter director said it was his first experience dealing with an animal believed to have been sexually assaulted.

“It’s disgusting,” he said. “It’s horrible.”

Shinnock was sentenced to four years in prison in November 2012 after he pleaded guilty to one count of child molesting.

Four other molesting charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement. In that case, Shinnock had been accused of sexually abusing five children — some of them members of his extended family — in a fire-damaged home along East Seventh Street.

Court documents related to the 2012 case said the Muncie man had “intellectual issues.”

With credit for good behavior and time served in jail before his sentencing, Shinnock was apparently out of prison by July 2013.

In 2002, Shinnock, then 21, received a 10-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to molesting. In that case, he admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Contact Star Press news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. Follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.