Teen faces sentencing after pleading guilty to trying sex act with Shetland pony
A 19-year-old British teenager faces sentencing after pleading guilty to attempting to commit a sexual act on a Shetland pony on a farm in West Yorkshire.Thomas Mikaelson, from Huddersfield, a town in West Yorkshire, England, appeared before Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday, September 30, wearing a light-grey suit jacket and light-grey jeans.He formally entered a guilty plea to a single charge of attempting to allow sexual penetration by a living animal under UK sexual offences laws.The court heard the charge stems from an incident on August 24, 2025, involving a Shetland pony named Cheeky at Gledhill Farm in Almondbury, situated on the outskirts of Huddersfield.Mikaelson pleaded not guilty to a secondary charge of recklessly trespassing to commit a relevant sexual offence.Prosecutor Robert Galley told the court the guilty plea to the primary count was acceptable to the Crown, and the second charge was ordered to lie on file.The prosecution outlined that the unusual incident had taken a significant toll on the property’s management and operations.His Honour Judge Phillips KC informed the court that the affected farmer had provided a detailed victim impact statement regarding the incident.“The farmer concerned has supplied a victim impact statement and I think that he ought to be given the opportunity of attending court at sentencing,” Judge Phillips said to the court.“It clearly has had an impact in more than one respect upon the farm and those involved in its operation.”Mikaelson was granted bail until his formal sentencing hearing, scheduled for November 17 at Leeds Crown Court, with a 30-minute time estimate allotted for proceedings.Judge Phillips ordered a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service to assess the danger the 19-year-old may pose to the community in the future.“The fact I’m adjourning the sentence in order for the Probation Service to prepare a report on you to address the risk you pose to the public in future should not be taken by y...