One man's unique case may have uncovered a loophole in Florida law that allows for certain forms of oral sex between humans and animals. Eric Antunes, 29, was arrested in May on charges of child pornography and bestiality. After allegedly finding images of child pornography on his home computer, investigators say they searched his cell phone and discovered photos of Antunes engaged in sexual acts with his girlfriend's three-legged dog.
Florida outlawed bestiality in October When Antunes was first arrested, many believed he would be among the first few people to be prosecuted under the new law. However, prosecutors now say they'll only be able to nab Antunes on the child pornography charges. Out of the 6 cell phone photos allegedly found, just one "would meet the strict criteria of the [bestiality] statute," Assistant State Attorney Beverly Andringa told the Tampa Bay Times.
According to the Times , this is because the bestiality law does not forbid oral sex between a human and an animal, and several media outlets have since reported on this "oral sex loophole. The loophole, however, is not as straightforward as one might think. In fact, the bill does indeed cover oral sexual contact between humans and animals:. So what is the "loophole"? An attorney interviewed by the Huffington Post points out that while the law forbids any contact between an animal's sex organ and a human mouth, it only forbids "penetration" of a human sex organ into an animal's mouth.
In other words, if a person made sexual contact with an animal's mouth, but was not "penetrating" the mouth, such contact may technically be permitted under the current law. A hypothetical example would be a dog licking a man's genitals, says the attorney, who wishes to remain anonymous. Antunes was allegedly on the receiving end of the "oral sex," according to the Miami New Times. The next four years will change America forever. But HuffPost won't back down when it comes to providing free and impartial journalism.
For the first time, we're offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless newsroom. We hope you'll join us. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest β we could use your help again.
