A NSW far south coast woman has avoided jail time after admitting to being an accessory to bestiality offences.

Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find confronting.

Mickayla Kerim, 29, pleaded guilty to two charges related to bestiality and two counts of concealing a serious indictable offence. 

The bestiality offences relate to a female horse at a property at Frogs Hollow, near Bega, between 2023 and 2024.

In the Sydney District Court on Thursday, Judge Miiko Kumar said Ms Kerim reported to police in January 2024 that her then-husband, Joel Kerim, had been committing acts of bestiality on a horse.

She also admitted to sending photos of the horse’s genitalia via text to her husband and concealed his sexual abuse of the mare.

A road sign on a country road.

The offences took place at a property at Frogs Hollow, south of Bega. (ABC South East NSW: Isla Evans )

Joel Kerim was sentenced in June 2025 after pleading guilty to four counts of bestiality involving the same horse. 

He was sentenced to a 15-month intensive corrections order and ordered to undertake 200 hours of community service and sex offender rehabilitation programs.

Judge Kumar described Joel Kerim as the principal offender of bestiality, but said Ms Kerim’s decisions to send text messages encouraged his actions.

The court heard the couple married in 2017, but their sexual relationship “slowed” and Ms Kerim experienced abuse since 2018. 

Judge Kumar accepted that Mrs Kerim suffered from domestic violence and coercive control, which was a contributing factor in her offending behaviour. 

Mr Kerim has not been charged with any offences against Ms Kerim.

A man in a suit walking along with his hand covering his face.

Joel Kerim was sentenced to a 15 month Intensive Corrections Order in 2025. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)

Judge Kumar said that at the time of offending, Ms Kerim was suffering from a major depressive disorder. 

The court heard Ms Kerim felt unable to leave the marriage or complain to the police earlier due to her religious upbringing and fear of her husband. 

Judge Kumar told the court that Ms Kerim’s assistance and admissions to police were “significant”, “truthful, complete and reliable”. 

During sentencing, Ms Kerim appeared via audio-visual link from her defence lawyer Tony Cullinan’s office, alongside her parents.

She was convicted on all four charges and sentenced to a Conditional Release Order for a period of 12 months.

Under the sentence, Ms Kerim will be required not to commit any offence, be supervised by a community corrections officer and continue to engage with a psychologist.

Judge Kumar said Ms Kerim’s level of criminality was “substantially lower” than Mr Kerim’s.

Judge Kumar said Ms Kerim’s prospects of rehabilitation were “excellent” because of her lack of criminal history, maintained employment, support of her parents, and her report to police of the co-offender’s conduct. 

The judge also took into account that media coverage and threats made to her on social media amounted to “extra pro curial punishment”, including “humiliation” and “ostracism” in the community.Â