By Austin L. Miller Staff writer
A farm hand accused of engaging in a sex act with his miniature donkey has been placed in protective custody at the Marion County Jail.

County officials have taken the animal, a 21-month-old named Doodle, to Animal Services — something the owner is not happy about.

“I want my donkey back. There’s got to be due process here. I paid $500 for her,” said Carlos R. Romero, sitting on a bench after his first appearance Tuesday morning in front of a judge.

Jail officials said Romero, who is charged with animal cruelty, is in protective custody for now.

County officials, meanwhile, plan to petition the court for custody of the donkey. If the court grants it, the county may put her up for adoption. County spokeswoman Elaine McClain said Doodle appears to be in good health, and there are “no outward signs of any physical abuse.”

Romero, 31, said he believes authorities placed him in protective custody in a ploy to keep him away from Doodle, and he vowed Tuesday to get her back.

At his first appearance via video link from the jail, Romero pleaded not guilty and Judge Steven Rogers set bail at $2,000.

Romero’s arrest comes a week after the farm’s proprietor, Gerald Joseph James, told Marion County Sheriff’s Office that he saw Romero having sex with Doodle in his room the night of Aug. 15. Deputies interviewed Romero last Friday, and he reportedly described having intimate contact with the donkey, but not intercourse.

A warrant was signed by the judge Monday, and Romero was picked up at the farm.

Romero said in an interview at the jail late Monday that he purchased Doodle from a man in Lake City and brought her to the farm in northwest Marion County a couple of months ago.

He said he has always felt an attraction toward animals, especially horses, because people have been known to “stab you in the back, give you diseases, lie to you” and are “promiscuous.”

Animals, he said, “are usually there for you” and “do not seek other pleasures.” Their feelings are “100 percent honest,” he added.

He admitted that he has had sex with horses many times since he was 18 and likes their “feminine shape, behavior and raw power.” He denied doing anything sexual to the donkey “because she’s blooming into maturity” but said he eventually would have.

Romero plans to post bond and return to the farm, then reclaim Doodle.

But James, the man who rents the farm, said Romero is not welcome on the property because he is concerned about the welfare of the horses.

Oddly, Romero believes that deputies arrested the wrong man. He called James, who reportedly caught him in the act, a peeping tom who invaded his privacy.