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A Michigan State University health physicist has been charged with bestiality, according to the attorney general's office.

According to officials, 51-year-old Joseph Hattey of Holt, Mich., has been charged with two counts of committing a crime against nature (bestiality).

Hattey is accused of penetrating a dog with his penis and his hand. The attorney general's office says the acts did not occur on campus or with an animal owned by MSU.

Officials say the dog, a Bassett hound, is safe and in the custody of Ingham County Animal Control. The alleged incident happened between January 7, 2018 and March 8, 2018, according to the warrant.

The charge is a 15-year felony.

MSU released the following statement:


Michigan State University was informed by the MSU Police Department on April 17 of a criminal investigation against Joseph Hattey, a health physicist with the Environmental Health and Safety Unit (note this position does not work with students, patients or animals). Hattey was immediately put on administrative suspension, pending the investigation. The university has been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement officials on this matter. MSUPD is providing digital forensic support in the investigation.

-Emily Guerrant, MSU Spokesperson