A Warren man is accused of performing sex acts on two dogs that he owns.

Salvador Rendon pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty during his arraignment in municipal court on Monday.

Authorities tell 21 News that the 61-year-old Ward Avenue man had sex with a male boxer and female boxer at least 10 times over the past six years.

Investigators say they were tipped off to the acts by Rendon's wife, who reported him after allegedly catching him in the act several times.

Rendon is charged with animal cruelty, which is a misdemeanor.

Ohio does not have a law against bestiality.

Ohio Senator Jim Hughes is sponsoring a bill to make bestiality illegal in the state. The measure is currently in committee.

"When cases like this come to the forefront, it's an unfortunate incident, but it brings about change, because it gets people taking and it gets people calling down to Columbus and saying why is this still legal in the state of Ohio," Jason Cooke said, valley area animal activist.

The charges come as no surprise to some neighbors as they continue to worry about the children who play along Ward Avenue.

"There's a bunch of kids that play around here, you can't have people like that around the neighborhood," Tom Verherst said, a Ward Avenue neighbor.

Rendon is being held in jail without bond while the court performs an investigation to determine if he's a flight risk. The dogs were taken to a local vet for evaluation.

Police tell 21 News they have never seen a case like this one.