Wisconsin man facing bestiality and felony bail jumping charges

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A Wisconsin man is now facing felony bail jumping charges in addition to an initial felony bestiality charge after allegedly engaging in sexual contact with an animal in violation of Wis. Stat. 944.18(2)(a).

Hardy J. Ripp, who resides on the N1400 block of County Road I in Arlington, Wisconsin, is also facing misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges.

Ripp, who is represented by Madison-based criminal defense attorney Sarah Schmeiser, is expected to return to the Columbia County Courthouse on July 3, 2024 at 10 a.m.

Columbia County District Attorney Brenda Yaskal is the prosecuting attorney on the case.

During a phone interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal on Tuesday, Yaskal said she has been in negotiations with Ripp’s defense attorney and a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Ripp is accused of engaging in sexual activity with a dog.

The dog’s owner was Ripp’s former finance, the victim told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday during a telephone interview.

The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she had known Ripp since 2013 — more than a decade, and although he had not previously engaged in bestiality to her knowledge, he had allegedly been abusive to her.

The victim said she approached local law enforcement and Yaskal’s office, who declined to press charges, despite the victim producing both audio and video evidence and having multiple witnesses.

Yaskal said she would not comment on referrals to her office that were not charged.

The Wisconsin Law Journal also reached out to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office on Monday to determine if a referral was made to the Columbia County District Attorney’s office previously.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office told the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday that in 2020, “a variety of charges were forwarded to the Columbia County District Attorney’s office for review.”

However, Yaskal said the prior referrals to her office about Ripp were not from 2020.

The sheriff’s office said the prior incident occurred on Oct. 20, 2020, however, according to CCAP, no charges were brought in those incidents.

The victim said Ripp’s family is wealthy and is actively involved in the Catholic church. She also noted the family is part of a well-respected dairy farm which also owns a series of restaurants, bars and trucking companies.

“They have so much influence, which I think is a factor why the district attorney chose not to pursue charges,” prior to the alleged bestiality incident, she said.

“His family is well into 200-plus people, and has a family member in local government,” she added.

According to a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal, on March 29, 2024, Ripp knowingly engaged “in sexual contact with an animal.” If convicted, he faces a $10,0000 fine and six years in prison.

Ripp also allegedly engaged in “violent, abusive, incident, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct,” the complaint noted.

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday, the victim said she has multiple animals at her home and placed several cameras in the home to make sure the animals were safe while she was away from home.

On March 29, the victim says she observed on the camera her then-fiancé engaging in sexual contact with one of her dogs, while he was allegedly drunk.

The victim wrote a written statement detailing the events.

The victim also said she was advised to contact the State Bar of Wisconsin’s lawyer referral service, where she received referrals to multiple Wisconsin attorneys who informed her the only civil remedy would be an emotional distress claim, but that would be barred by the statute of limitations as most of the abuse against her occurred several years ago.

Although the victim has not been successful in seeking justice previously, she is hopeful Ripp will be held accountable for his most recent alleged behavior.

“My goal is prison time for him and for him to be on the sex offender’s registry list,” she said, noting she wants this case to bring more mental health awareness to substance use issues.