Brown County, WI — A Wisconsin man with a long history of sexually abusing horses was recently arrested AGAIN by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, for you guessed it, sexually assaulting horses.
Sterling Rachwal, 53, was arrested and charged multiple misdemeanors because raping animals isn’t considered a serious offense in Wisconsin.
Deputies were called to a horse ranch near the town of Eaton for a suspicious person complaint after the property owner saw a strange man exit their barn. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a horse bleeding from its rectum after an apparent sexual assault.
It didn’t take long for police to identify a suspect:
“He [Rachwal] was always on our radar,” said Brown County Sheriff John Gossage.
“It’s the same kind of charge, basically, over and over again throughout the years going back to the ’80s,” said Brown County District Attorney Dana Johnson.
Those include convictions for mistreatment of animals in ’83 and ’84 in Waupaca County and also Outagamie County in ’88.
One look at Rachwal’s record is enough to make any animal lover violently ill.
In Monroe County in 1993, Rachwal was convicted of three counts, including sexual gratification with an animal and mistreatment of animals causing death. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but his case was later overturned on appeal after the court decided he was not guilty because of a mental disease or defect. He was instead ordered to a mental health facility.
In 1996, this time in Waupaca County, Rachwal was convicted on four counts of mistreating animals but was declared not guilty again because HE REALLY LOVES RAPING HORSES.
According to court transcripts from 2007, a psychologist told the court Rachwal had been diagnosed with zoophilia, specifically, sexual attraction to horses.
On Nov. 1, 2008, he was discovered inside a horse barn in Fon du Lac County, allegedly wearing latex gloves.
Rachwal was convicted of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 90 days in jail.
In 2010, he was recommitted to Mendota Mental Health Institute.
He was released back into the community in 2015.
When questioned by authorities this time, Rachwal denied sexually assaulting the horse. He claims he is a victim of a conspiracy created by his sister and a local veterinarian.
Rachwal is currently being held on a $6,000 bond.
