A homeless man in Washington County faces felony charges after authorities say he admitted to breaking into a barn and having sexual contact with a horse.

Kenneth Lijah Duyck, 20, entered the stables at a rural home in the 200 block of Northwest 334th Avenue near Hillsboro last week and targeted a black mare named Ellie, court records and the Washington County Sheriff's Office allege.

The homeowner later found the horse tied up in an unusual manner and alerted law enforcement, the sheriff's office said.

Deputies found an overturned bucket near the animal, Jeff Talbot, a Washington County sheriff's spokesman, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. A veterinarian examined the horse and determined it had been sexually assaulted, Talbot said.

Based on accounts from the homeowner and neighbors, who had seen Duyck in the area, authorities eventually tracked the young man down at a Walmart parking lot in Cornelius on Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.

Duyck first told deputies he had only entered the horse stables to look for work, Talbot said. He later admitted he had sexual contact with the horse, the sheriff's office said.

He was booked Wednesday in the Washington County Jail on suspicion of sexual assault of an animal and second-degree burglary.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh