MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. -- Two men face animal cruelty charges after investigators believe one of them spent months consistently engaging in sex acts with a horse.

According to the Columbia Daily Herald, authorities arrested and charged 58-year-old James Michael Tait with three counts of animal cruelty. Kenny Thomason, 44, faces two counts of the same charge.

Authorities believe Tait repeatedly engaged in sex acts with a stud horse at the farm on Double Branch Road. A captain reportedly discovered pictures of Tait committing the crime.

Authorities don't believe Thomason was involved in the sex acts, but according to investigators, Thomason knew about the crime and allowed it to continue.

“This is one of the most upsetting days I've ever dealt with,” Maury County Sheriff Enoch George told the Daily Herald Friday.

Currently, Tait is in the Maury County Jail, being held in lieu of $125,000 bond.

Tait has been in trouble with authorities for similar allegations in the past.

In 2005, police in Seattle, Wash. said Tait made a videotape of a friend engaging in sex acts with a horse. The friend later died from internal injuries.

As part of the investigation, investigators found more than 100 videotapes depicting Tait and other people performing sex acts with animals.

Because of the state's laws, though, authorities could only charge Tait with trespassing. He pleaded guilty, served a year of probation and paid a $300 fine.

The case motivated lawmakers in Washington to strengthen bestiality laws in that state.