Jeffrey S. Haynes, 42, was sentenced to 30 months to 20 years in prison for sodomy. Haynes pleaded no contest in January to the charge.
"This whole incident defies description, justification, or excuse, whatsoever," Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Conrad Sindt said during the sentencing hearing Monday.
Haynes was charged after police said he assaulted the sheep in Bedford Township on Jan. 26, 2005.
The owner of the animal caught Haynes on the property and found one of the sheep had been injured.
He was charged after police sent a DNA sample from the sheep to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab. He was arrested in June.
Haynes told Sindt, "I take full responsibility for what I did wrong. I am sorry for what I did. But I am not a child molester and would never touch a child."
Assistant Prosecutor Tamara Towns argued that while the crime was not against a person, Haynes should be ordered to register as a sex offender because it's possible that once out of prison he would prey on children or vulnerable adults.
"He is a predator," Towns said.
But Haynes said he is not a violent person and would not assault children.
"The prosecutor is being real hard on me for what I did," he said. "But I should not be treated as a child molester."
Haynes has prior convictions for burglary, home invasion and uttering and publishing and was on parole for burglary at the time of the alleged crime.
Sindt said once he is released from prison Haynes must register on the state's sex offenders list.
"This act is so representative of someone who is sexually perverted that I will order he register on the sex offender list," Sindt said.
Trace Christenson The Enquirer
Trace Christenson covers crime and courts. He can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.
Gannett News Service