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Man charged with sexually abusing mare

CARROLLTON -- A Chesterfield man was charged Wednesday with sexually abusing a mare in Macoupin County, even as prosecutors in Greene County filed new charges against him of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Horse owners from the two counties attended Wednesday�s preliminary hearing in Greene County Circuit Court for Kevin Eugene McAfee, whose 43rd birthday also was Wednesday. A number of horse owners say they believe McAfee has been sexually abusing their mares oversome 20 years.

Macoupin County State�s Attorney Vince Moreth charged McAfee with one count of sexual conduct with an animal, as well as criminal trespass to property and criminal damage to property.

McAfee allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct with a mare belonging to Cory Suttles of rural Chesterfield on March 30 of this year. The charges also allege McAfee, on the same date, damaged a padlocked door of a freezer at Suttles� residence in Chesterfield, with damages not exceeding $300, and criminally trespassed on Suttles� land.

Glen Suttles is the father of Cory Suttles, and their property is adjacent to each other. The elder Suttles said Wednesday that he and his wife, Nina, and the rest of the concerned horse owners in the area were elated that McAfee finally has been charged with sexual misconduct with an animal.

"I am glad not only for us but also for all the people�s sakes that have been putting up with things for 15 to 20 years that we could never fully explain," Glenn Suttles said.

Suttles said he had been hearing such rumors for years but that until the death of Steve Barnes� mare last month in Greene County and McAfee�s arrest for criminal damage to property in the death of the mare, horse owners had never gotten together to compare experiences.

"I had heard rumors for years, but you always hear stories, so I never wanted to say anything without something that could be proven," Suttles said.

Suttles said his son telephoned him March 30 and told him he had found a bale of hay on his property on fire and smoldering. Glenn Suttles went to help his son, and while they were putting out the fire in the bale of hay, they found a cigarette butt and then found the freezer broken into.

"We called Chesterfield Police Chief Bob Berrey, and he came out and investigated thoroughly, took fingerprints," Suttles said. "We knew he and the Sheriff�s Department were seeking charges against (McAfee), but we were not to say anything until the investigation was complete. We were told that McAfee confessed to having sexual contact with the mare, and the charges were filed."

McAfee has remained in the Greene County Jail in Carrollton in lieu of $75,000 bail since his arrest July 9 in the death of the mare belonging to Barnes, of Rockbridge.

McAfee appeared Wednesday in Greene County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing, which was continued until 10 a.m. Aug. 18 to allow his newly court-appointed attorney, Charles Theivagt, time to prepare. The first two court-appointed attorneys cited conflicts of interest in representing the defendant.

Besides the charge of criminal damage to property in the death of Barnes� mare, Dolly, Greene County State�s Attorney Elliott Turpin�s motion to add the additional charge of aggravated cruelty to animals was accepted by Circuit Judge James Day. The charges allege that McAfee tied the mare to a fence with a strap in such a manner that it caused the horse to choke to death and that he intentionally caused the death of a companion animal.

Barnes and horse owners throughout the rural Rockbridge and Chesterfield communities recently began getting together to share their concerns and suspicions about McAfee.

Almost 30 of the concerned horse owners met with a Telegraph reporter at the home of Don Bollini shortly after McAfee�s arrest. While some were not willing to comment on the record for fear of retaliation by McAfee after he gets out of jail, others spoke their minds.

"People are tired of putting up with McAfee," Bollini said. "We have had unexplained things happening to our horses for years, and as one guy said, any of us who had mares have to figure this guy�s been on our property and at our mares."

Barnes said Wednesday he was glad so many fellow horse owners attended the preliminary hearing to show the court they are counting on it to prosecute McAfee to the fullest extent of the law.

"We want him stopped," Barnes said. "It�s gone on too long, and it�s not just for my horse to see some justice. It�s for all the people who have dealt with this for at least the last 20 years."

"We will give (the Greene County charges) a few more days," Bollini said. "We understand there are charges pending in Macoupin County court that are far more egregious, and after all, McAfee has the right to a proper defense. But the longer this drags out, the longer lots of people will remain on pins and needles. And I�ll be back in court on Aug. 18 to support Steve Barnes again."

"What scares me is that he has been doing things for so long and is suspected of doing even more than he has been charged with, that he may only get a few years and be out on the street," Barnes said.

Several of the horse owners admitted they were very slow to put two and two together about the incidents, because "your mind doesn�t really want to go there," they said.

After filing the charge of sexual conduct with an animal against McAfee, Moreth�s only comment about the case Wednesday was, "It�s sick."

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