Who is Themis Matsoukas? Acclaimed Penn State professor charged with engaging in lewd act with his collie dog

Themis Matsoukas, an acclaimed award-winning Penn State professor, was arrested on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. He was arrested after he was caught on surveillance video performing s*xual acts with his collie dog in Rothrock State Forest.

According to a criminal complaint cited by the Centre Daily Times, the incident reportedly occurred on April 13, 2023. Themis Matsoukas, 64, naked from the waist down, wearing his socks, shoes and a ski mask, was caught on camera committing obscene acts with his collie near bathrooms at Rothrock State Forest in Pennsylvania.

The surveillance footage near the bathroom reportedly showed Matsoukas recording the lewd act with his iPad. Shortly after the professor left the bathroom with his dog, he allegedly began pleasuring himself while filming it on the electronic tablet before encouraging his dog to perform a s*xual act on him.

As per the criminal complaint, authorities failed to glean the identity of the perpetrator in April as he had concealed his face with a mask.

However, authorities were able to nail down the suspect after Matsoukas was identified through a North Face backpack he was found carrying at the time of the incident. The complaint stated that Matsoukas was also caught on camera in a similar circumstance around 2014.

Shortly after identifying the suspect, on June 9, authorities reportedly issued a search warrant for his home in State College on June 9. Authorities said that at the time, a visibly distressed Matsoukas told the officers searching his house, “I’m done, I’m dead,” before pleading with them to shoot him on the spot.

Matsoukas then went on to defend his actions stating that he was merely trying to blow off some steam when he engaged in indecent acts with his dog. During the search, the rangers reportedly recovered the backpacks and ski mask seen in the footage.

Matsoukas was subsequently charged with misdemeanour charges of open lewdness, indecent exposure and s*xual intercourse with an animal, and summary charges of cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct.

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Themis Matsoukas has been with Penn State University since 1991

Themis Matsoukas, a professor of chemical engineering at Penn State University, has reportedly been teaching at the institution since 1991. Per his university bio, Themis Matsoukas obtained a diploma in Chemical Engineering from National Technical University in 1983 and then earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1989.

Matsoukas is a winner of three teaching awards, including the Premier Teaching Award from the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society in 2017. He has written at least four books on Chemical engineering and has published several Journal Articles on the subject.

Shortly after the charges against the professor were made public, Penn State told Centre Daily Times that Themis Matsoukas was dismissed from the university.

“Themis Matsoukas has been relieved of his responsibilities and is on leave.”

As Matsoukas awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 19 in Huntingdon County, his attorney Matthew McClenahen told the newspaper that it would be inappropriate to comment on the incident at this time.