36°
A trail camera intended to catch hand sanitizer thieves captured 64-year-old Chemical Engineering Professor, Themis Matsoukas committing multiple sexual acts with his collie near the restrooms at Rothrock State Forest on April 13, 2023, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The dog was attached to its leash during the acts, the rangers explained in the affidavit.
Matsoukas returned to the park and "performed a similar act" in May and the assaults were caught on the forest's parking lot camera, court documents show.
Park rangers identified him using his Northface backpack. In the videos he apparently was using a tablet to record himself raping his collie, investigators explained.
When rangers approached him he was "visibly nervous" and repeatedly told the rangers "I'm done, I'm dead, you don't understand, I do it to blow off steam." He supposedly begged the rangers to shoot him saying, "I need to die," as stated in court records.
A warranted search of his State College home was conducted by rangers on June 9.
They found "all items listed" in the warrant, including the backpack and a ski mask — all of which appeared on camera during the April sexual assaults. The dog at his home also matched the collie in the video, according to the rangers.
These two incidents at the state forest are not the first time Matsoukas has committed sexual acts in the wood, the rangers explained.
Two nearby private camps have turned over numerous photos of a naked man who officials believe to be Masoukas, dating back to 2014, according to the affidavit.
Matsoukas has written multiple books and articles and has been working at Penn State University since 1991, where he earned multiple teaching awards, including the Premier Teaching Award from the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society in 2017, according to the school's profile on him.
PSU sent the following statement to Daily Voice:
"We are deeply appalled by the allegations. Themis Matsoukas has been relieved of his responsibilities and has been put on leave."
Mastoukas was charged with a misdemeanor for open lewdness, indecent exposure, and sexual intercourse with an animal, as well as to summary charges of cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct, as detailed in court documents.
His preliminary hearing has been set before Magisterial District Judge Douglas L. Gummo at 2 p.m. on July 19, 2023, as detailed in his court docket.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ridgefield Park-Hasbrouck Heights and receive free news updates.
