Literally, Don't Have A Cow, New York Man!

APRIL 22--In the course of a child porn probe targeting his younger brother, an upstate New York man caught a legal ricochet shot when investigators discovered videos showing him engaged in sexual acts with animals, including a cow, court records show.

Mark Banks, 38, was arrested earlier this month for sexual misconduct for allegedly having “sexual intercourse with a dairy cow on the property of Winsor Acres,” the Broome County farm where he has worked for 22 years.

A New York State Police investigation originally focused on Banks’s brother, Christopher, 37, for possessing child porn transmitted online.

When police executed a search warrant at Christopher’s residence--which he apparently shares with his sibling--they scooped up an assortment of electronic equipment.

A review of the seized materials resulted in the filing of a felony charge against Christopher for possessing a sexual performance by a child. A school cafeteria employee, Christopher was immediately fired by the local school district.

In a handwritten statement given to police “out of my own free will,” Mark wrote that, “The State Police found some videos on my device today involving sex with animals,” adding that, “when I was younger I had sex with a cow.”

After describing the illicit act, Mark wrote, “I did not ejaculate, but did so because of a sexual urge. It didn’t work at first and I shifted the bucket and tried again. This did not happen again after that.”

The Banks brothers are due in Town Court Thursday morning to answer the criminal charges.

The class A misdemeanor Mark faces carries a maximum one-year jail term. If convicted of the child porn count, Christopher faces up to four years in custody. Upon conviction, each of the charges carries the additional penalty of having to register as a sex offender. (3 pages)