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A 65-year-old American Fork man has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly having sex with his neighbor's dog.
Melvin Parley Pace, 65, was charged in July in 4th District Court with five counts of lewdness with prior convictions, a third-degree felony, as well as five counts of bestiality and seven counts of criminal trespass, which are class B misdemeanors.
Following a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Judge Derek Pullan ordered Pace to stand trial on all 17 counts.
Pace is to appear again in court for arraignment on Oct. 7.
This is the second time Pace has been charged with having sex with his neighbors' Kangal, a large Turkish dog breed.
In the first case, the dog's owners aimed a camera at the dog's run after the gate was left open in December 2013. The footage showed Pace enter the dog run and have sex with the dog, according to American Fork police Lt. Sam Liddiard.
In that case, Pace was charged with two counts each of bestiality, lewdness and criminal trespass, all class B misdemeanors. Pace pleaded guilty in February to two counts of lewdness and the other counts were dismissed. He received a suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation for 12 months year.
This spring, the dog's run was again left open, so the owners reactivated the camera, according to charging documents.
The footage allegedly showed Pace — who was still on probation in the first case — having sex with the dog on at least seven different occasions between May 20 and June 28, the charges add.
The dog run is in full view and hearing of two city streets, a business and neighboring homes, according to charges.