Suffolk SPCA to detail arrest in Mastic Beach dog sex case

The Suffolk SPCA planned to detail the arrest of Zachary Carlisle, 19, of Mastic Beach, at an 11 a.m. press conference Thursday at its headquarters, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway, Building 16, in Smithtown. The case centers on an accusation of sexual conduct with a dog and has become part of Suffolk County’s broader animal-welfare enforcement effort.

Investigators said the complaint in the case was filed on Oct. 15, 2025, and the Suffolk SPCA said Carlisle was first arrested on June 4, 2026. Officials said the investigation remained active and that additional criminal charges were expected, signaling that the case had not finished moving through the county’s system when the press conference was set.

The timing also fits a larger shift in Suffolk’s response to animal abuse. District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the county’s first Animal Cruelty Task Force on Jan. 24, 2024, saying the unit was part of a push to better investigate and prosecute animal-abuse cases. The task force gave Suffolk a more formal structure for cases that can involve animal cruelty, public safety concerns and long-running investigative work before an arrest is made.

Suffolk has seen similar cases before. In 2018, SPCA detectives arrested Vincent Persico, a 64-year-old registered sex offender in Copiague, after accusations that he had sex with a dog. The county has also had SPCA animal-cruelty cases in Mastic Beach and Middle Island, showing that these investigations have surfaced repeatedly in different parts of Long Island.

For neighbors, veterinarians and pet owners, the Carlisle case is another reminder that animal-abuse complaints can begin quietly and then develop into criminal investigations months later. In this case, the complaint to investigators preceded the arrest by more than seven months, and the SPCA said more charges could still follow as the case advanced.