A Longview man is accused of attempting to hire a prostitute for himself and his miniature horse.
Jad K. Shipman, 48, of Longview, was arrested on Oct. 17 and released on $1,000 bail as he awaits his initial arraignment hearing scheduled for Thursday. He was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on one count of first-degree attempted animal cruelty and one count of patronizing a prostitute, per court documents.
According to the probable cause statement, a vice unit detective from the Bellevue Police Department contacted the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 15 to report that a user, later identified as Shipman, was communicating with a person on a forum-based website where users can solicit prostitutes.
Shipman allegedly offered to pay $440 to a person to travel to Longview to touch him and his miniature horse sexually.
According to the report, Shipman told the potential prostitute he was having a difficult time finding a willing participant to join him as the “last two gals I asked said it was noticeably outside their comfort zone.”
On Oct. 13, a deputy arrived at Shipman’s residence and saw two miniature horses on his property. A resident told the deputy Shipman was a partial owner of the animals.
Four days later, Shipman sat down for an interview with deputies, who reportedly told them, after being read his Miranda Rights, that he did offer a person cash for sexual purposes. He admitted during the interview that he had prior sexual contact with animals, the report states.
While out on bail, the suspect is prohibited from being around animals.
