Sunderland man jailed after performing sex act on baby seagull

A man who admitted carrying out a sex act while holding a baby seagull and watching animal porn has been jailed for 24 weeks.

David Lee, 40, from Roker Avenue, Sunderland, appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, where he had admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the herring gull at a previous hearing.

The incident happened in Sunderland at about 1am on 18 August last year.

Magistrates handed him an immediate 24-week jail term and banned him from keeping animals for 10 years.

Lesley Burgess, prosecuting, said: “This was a deliberate and gratuitous act that caused suffering.”

The incident was captured on CCTV, which shows the defendant running down the street trying to chase a seagull before taking a different, baby gull into a back alley.

He is seen taking his phone out of his pocket, taking his trousers down and performing a sex act.

Ms Burgess said that when he had finished, Lee put the gull down, gave it a “small kick” to shoo it away and walked off in the opposite direction.

As during the previous hearing in April, seagulls on the roof of the court screeched noisily during the sentencing.

Lee was arrested at a nearby takeaway and told police he picked up the gull because he thought it was hurt and was looking on his phone to find out what he should do.

But instead of searching for a vet’s phone number, as he claimed to have done, police checks revealed Lee had actually been looking at animal porn, the court was told.

Ms Burgess said the crown obtained expert evidence from a vet who said the footage showed “the bird will have been caused unnecessary suffering by the act that the defendant did”.

In a victim statement which was read to the court, the woman who saw the offence on her CCTV said: “For almost a year the actions of this person have caused me a lot of mental stress and anxiety.

“I am still haunted by what he did.

“I am unable to get his horrendous actions out of my head.

“I sincerely hope the sentence today gives justice for the bird he defiled and for people like myself who were traumatised when they saw what he did, and it is a deterrent for anyone else who thinks animal abuse is acceptable.”

Annalisa Moscardini, defending, said Lee was a heavy drinker who experienced blackouts.

“He accepts he must have done this act but he didn’t have a good recollection of it,” she said in explanation of his initial denials.

“To some extent he cannot explain what happened.”

A psychiatric report found he suffered from an unstable personality disorder and was detached from reality. He was also a pathological liar whose lies served no purpose, the court heard.

Angela Thompson, chairman of the bench, said: “We find this is a deliberate attempt to cause suffering and a high level of suffering was caused.”

Anna Malia, of North East Animal Rights, attended court and, after the hearing, she said herring gulls were increasingly rare and have additional protection.

“Because of the sexual nature of this crime, it has received significant attention in the local press with many jokes being made about it,” she said.

“But it is not funny or a subject to be joked about or mocked.”

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