A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for forcing his wife to have sex with a dog in the south Indian state of Karnataka on Tuesday.

The incident came to light in March 2017 when the man's wife, who left her husband's home along with her three children following "physical and psychological abuse," filed a police complaint. She stated her husband made her watch pornographic videos on his phone and forced her to indulge in similar acts. He also forced her to perform sexual acts with a dog and assaulted her when she refused.

"In March 2017, he got his uncle's puppy, which was about six to seven months old, and forced his wife to perform sexual acts with it," a police officer said. Investigations revealed the man had forced the woman to have sex with the canine three times in a span of two weeks after it was brought home.

"When the woman repeatedly refused to comply with his demands, he would threaten to throw her out of the house and also abandon their children. The woman is a homemaker and she depended on him financially. He would also beat her up if she refused to do as he says," he added, local media outlet the News Minute reported.

He was taken into custody the same month and denied bail by the court. He remained in jail during the trial and was convicted Tuesday.

Police said the dog's owner and the victim's parents testified on behalf of the woman in the court.

"Apart from the survivor's testimony and the testimonies of her parents and her husband's uncle, we had solid evidence. We had got medical reports for the woman and the dog, which worked in favor of the survivor. The judge called it a heinous crime and has sentenced him to 10 years in prison," the officer said.

In a similar incident in 2013, a woman was forced to have sex with her in-laws' dog on several occasions in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Apart from forcing the woman to perform sexual acts with the dog, the in-laws also tortured her by beating her up. A case of harassment and torture was filed against them, News 18 reported.

This article originally appeared in IBTimes US.