Gsquared
03-27-2007, 07:40 AM
After monkey claim, worker fears for job
Plano ISD: He accused pet owner of engaging in sex acts with animal
09:17 PM CDT on Monday, March 26, 2007
By LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
ldavolio@dallasnews.com
The head of a Plano school district facility that houses exotic animals said Monday he fears for his professional future there after saying he believed that a local pet owner was having sexual relations with his rhesus macaque monkey.
The Plano Star Courier in Saturday's edition quoted Plano ISD's Jim Dunlap as saying a man was having relations with the monkey seized last month by authorities. The head of PISD's Living Materials Center said the pet owner, Bobby Crawford Jr., sent a box of toys for Darwin the monkey to play with while he was kept there. In that box was an audiotape.
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"After listening to the tape, Dunlap said Crawford made references to Darwin and himself engaging in mutual stimulation," the story read.
In an interview Monday with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Dunlap said he had been going through "holy hell" over the story. He said the Star Courier reported information that was "off the record and not to be printed."
"I've been expecting any moment to get a phone call from my supervisor saying, 'You've been put on administrative leave,' or from somebody saying, 'I'm suing,' " Mr. Dunlap said.
Rick Mann, managing editor of the Star Courier, said, "I'll simply say the story speaks for itself."
The monkey and a tarantula were returned to Mr. Crawford on Friday.
Mr. Crawford said he did send a tape for the monkey to listen to, but that he was probably crying when he recorded it and that it contains nothing but comforting baby talk. He said there was nothing sexually suggestive on the tape and called Mr. Dunlap's initial conclusion "ridiculous."
"I don't have sex with my monkey. That's absolute crap," Mr. Crawford said. "Why would I do that? I gave him an audiotape, but it didn't have anything like that on it. It said, 'I'm coming home, I'm coming to get you. Daddy's coming, he's coming to get you,' " Mr. Crawford said.
Mr. Dunlap said that he made a "gross error" and that his interpretation of the tape was just that – his and no one else's.
"I interpreted what I heard and saw in my own way, and I can't say that's correct. It's just me, what I think. I can't argue with Mr. Crawford about what he meant," Mr. Dunlap said. "I took it on surface value about what he said. I just don't want to deal with it anymore. He may be totally honest and right in what he thinks about the way he sounded."
Spokeswoman Nancy Long said the Plano school district had no comment.
Mr. Dunlap declined to make the tape available, but Plano Police Department spokesman Rick McDonald said an investigator had listened to it. He would not say whether the tape described sexual activity.
"Best we can tell, there's no evidence that a crime has been committed," he said, declining to comment further.
The monkey was among nine animals taken from Mr. Crawford on Feb. 21 because of violations of city and state rules on the keeping of animals.
Mr. Crawford vowed at the time to leave Plano, and he said Monday that in order to legally keep Darwin he has moved into a barn on a friend's property in Kaufman County.
Authorities seized Darwin, along with the rose-haired tarantula, six piranhas and an American alligator during the raid. According to court records, Plano police were led to Mr. Crawford's door while investigating a minor hit-and-run accident in the area days earlier.
The officer's line of questioning quickly turned to Darwin, who was in plain view. Then, the officer noticed the 50-gallon aquarium with six piranhas.
Possession of exotic, harmful or potentially harmful fish or aquatic plants is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Officer McDonald said. Other animals resulted in Class C misdemeanors. A report was filed on the piranhas with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Mr. Crawford, 42, said he's owned Darwin for eight years and has gone to extremes to get him back, like moving to Poetry, north of Terrell, and living in a barn on a friend's property.
The Living Materials Center features more than 150 animals and natural history materials.
Mr. Dunlap said he's been with Plano ISD for 30 years. He is a mainstay and something of a legend in the district, his name synonymous to generations of students with learning made fun. He also is ailing, recently undergoing a procedure to implant a defibrillator.
He said he signed a contract renewal early Monday but didn't know the contract's term.
Plano ISD: He accused pet owner of engaging in sex acts with animal
09:17 PM CDT on Monday, March 26, 2007
By LAUREN D'AVOLIO / The Dallas Morning News
ldavolio@dallasnews.com
The head of a Plano school district facility that houses exotic animals said Monday he fears for his professional future there after saying he believed that a local pet owner was having sexual relations with his rhesus macaque monkey.
The Plano Star Courier in Saturday's edition quoted Plano ISD's Jim Dunlap as saying a man was having relations with the monkey seized last month by authorities. The head of PISD's Living Materials Center said the pet owner, Bobby Crawford Jr., sent a box of toys for Darwin the monkey to play with while he was kept there. In that box was an audiotape.
Also Online
2/24/07: Animal house gets raided
"After listening to the tape, Dunlap said Crawford made references to Darwin and himself engaging in mutual stimulation," the story read.
In an interview Monday with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Dunlap said he had been going through "holy hell" over the story. He said the Star Courier reported information that was "off the record and not to be printed."
"I've been expecting any moment to get a phone call from my supervisor saying, 'You've been put on administrative leave,' or from somebody saying, 'I'm suing,' " Mr. Dunlap said.
Rick Mann, managing editor of the Star Courier, said, "I'll simply say the story speaks for itself."
The monkey and a tarantula were returned to Mr. Crawford on Friday.
Mr. Crawford said he did send a tape for the monkey to listen to, but that he was probably crying when he recorded it and that it contains nothing but comforting baby talk. He said there was nothing sexually suggestive on the tape and called Mr. Dunlap's initial conclusion "ridiculous."
"I don't have sex with my monkey. That's absolute crap," Mr. Crawford said. "Why would I do that? I gave him an audiotape, but it didn't have anything like that on it. It said, 'I'm coming home, I'm coming to get you. Daddy's coming, he's coming to get you,' " Mr. Crawford said.
Mr. Dunlap said that he made a "gross error" and that his interpretation of the tape was just that – his and no one else's.
"I interpreted what I heard and saw in my own way, and I can't say that's correct. It's just me, what I think. I can't argue with Mr. Crawford about what he meant," Mr. Dunlap said. "I took it on surface value about what he said. I just don't want to deal with it anymore. He may be totally honest and right in what he thinks about the way he sounded."
Spokeswoman Nancy Long said the Plano school district had no comment.
Mr. Dunlap declined to make the tape available, but Plano Police Department spokesman Rick McDonald said an investigator had listened to it. He would not say whether the tape described sexual activity.
"Best we can tell, there's no evidence that a crime has been committed," he said, declining to comment further.
The monkey was among nine animals taken from Mr. Crawford on Feb. 21 because of violations of city and state rules on the keeping of animals.
Mr. Crawford vowed at the time to leave Plano, and he said Monday that in order to legally keep Darwin he has moved into a barn on a friend's property in Kaufman County.
Authorities seized Darwin, along with the rose-haired tarantula, six piranhas and an American alligator during the raid. According to court records, Plano police were led to Mr. Crawford's door while investigating a minor hit-and-run accident in the area days earlier.
The officer's line of questioning quickly turned to Darwin, who was in plain view. Then, the officer noticed the 50-gallon aquarium with six piranhas.
Possession of exotic, harmful or potentially harmful fish or aquatic plants is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Officer McDonald said. Other animals resulted in Class C misdemeanors. A report was filed on the piranhas with the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Mr. Crawford, 42, said he's owned Darwin for eight years and has gone to extremes to get him back, like moving to Poetry, north of Terrell, and living in a barn on a friend's property.
The Living Materials Center features more than 150 animals and natural history materials.
Mr. Dunlap said he's been with Plano ISD for 30 years. He is a mainstay and something of a legend in the district, his name synonymous to generations of students with learning made fun. He also is ailing, recently undergoing a procedure to implant a defibrillator.
He said he signed a contract renewal early Monday but didn't know the contract's term.