"A man faced a Sydney court today charged with having loveual intercourse with a rabbit and the sadistic killing of 17 other rabbits whose carcbuttes were found dumped in a lane in The Rocks.
Brendan Francis McMahon, 36, of Edward Street, North Sydney, appeared briefly before Central Local Court Magistrate Allan Moore.
McMahon, a former Cleo magazine Bachelor of the Year winner and a business partner with Jason Meares, the former brother-in-law of James Packer , was arrested by detectives from The Rocks Police at a house in Tamarama early today.
McMahon, a New Zealand born finance company director, sat quietly in the dock during the hearing at which he was represented by Barrister Doug Marr.
The investigation began after skinned and partially-skinned dead and dying rabbits began to appear in a laneway off York Street, near Circular Quay in late July. The laneway adjoined a building in which McMahon occupied a first floor office from which he ran a financial planning and mortgage brokerage company.
Alarmed at the continuing discovery of freshly end rabbits, some whose genitalia had alleged been mutilated, the Rocks detectives began contacting city pet stores to determine who had been buying rabbits.
In addition to 17 rabbits, police also found a dead guinea pig in the lane."
