A Bethlehem man admitted today to raping a dog last year in Allentown.

“My decision was to plead guilty because, if not, we would go to trial,” Juan Sanabria-Hernandez, 27, said through an interpreter. “I am the most remorseful for what I did.”

Under a plea deal before Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos, Sanabria-Hernandez, who was wearing a striped polo shirt, jeans and sneakers, pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse with an animal.

He was sentenced to 18 months of probation. In exchange for the plea, a charge of animal cruelty was dropped.

Prosecutors said Sanabria-Hernandez raped a female Shih Tzu named Star on Oct. 18 in Allentown. The dog's owner, Angela Rivera, noticed the dog had physical injuries that night and confronted Sanabria-Hernandez, who had been watching the animal, the next day, according to court records.

"He told her he had, in fact, had sexual intercourse with her dog," Lehigh County Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk said.

Rivera called police and Sanabria-Hernandez confessed to police, prosecutors said.

Attorneys on both sides of the case cited Sanabria-Hernandez’s “limitations” that “go a long way in explaining his behavior,” defense attorney Irene Johns said.

Johns said a psychological report noted Sanabria-Hernandez is not a risk to others and he will continue to maintain treatment with his intensive case manager.

“He has clear mental health issues. He needs to be supervised. That would be our concern,” Falk said.