Elderly Richmond County man convicted of having sex with neighbor's cows.

By KEITH EPPS
The Free Lance-Star

Date published: 6/8/2002

An 81-year-old man was convicted of a felony charge yesterday for having sex with cows in a Westmoreland County pasture.

S.A. Balderson of Richmond County was found guilty of bestiality following a trial in King George County.

Though it is a Westmoreland case, the trial was held in King George Circuit Court because it has equipment for the hearing-impaired that Balderson needs.

The main evidence presented by Westmoreland Commonwealth's Attorney Peggy Garland was a videotape showing Balderson being intimate with two cows in a pasture in Nomini Grove off State Route 3 on Sept. 5.

Westmoreland detective Merile Jones had gone to the field that morning after the Sheriff's Office received a complaint about Balderson's activities there. Balderson's home in Richmond County is less than a mile away.

With Jones' tape running, Balderson showed up wearing only a T-shirt, tennis shoes and sunglasses. He was filmed going from cow to cow.

It was the first time police had set up surveillance, but they said Balderson had been to the field many times before.

Police said the property owner knows Balderson, but had not given him permission to be there or to be with the cows.

A confidential informant filed the complaint, police said. The informant was concerned that Balderson's activities, which typically went on during the day, might be seen by children at a nearby private school.

Defense attorney Rich Low argued that "appearances could be deceiving" and that what was happening on the tape could have been something else. Low did not say what else it might have been.

Balderson will be sentenced Aug. 23. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

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Date published: 6/8/2002