CHARLESTON, W. Va. (CBSDC) – An area resident who was facing charges related to allegedly raping and murdering a goat while high on bath salts has been declared not competent to stand trial by a county judge.

The man, 20-year-old Mark Lucas Thompson of Alum Creek, pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to the various charges he faced in relation to the incident.

But according to the Associated Press, the matter will not be heard in court, as Kanawha Circuit Judge James Stuckey accepted his plea before sending the man to William Sharpe Mental Hospital for a reported six years of treatment.

A grand jury had initially indicted Thompson on two charges of animal cruelty and petit larceny, the Charleston Daily Mail reported.

“It is hoped, with the court’s order, that he can be placed in a least restrictive environment and his issues can be dealt with appropriately,” Thompson’s attorney, John Carr, told the Charleston Daily Mail.

During the hearing, Thompson allegedly only spoke to his family, who were seated behind him during the proceedings.

“I love you, Mom,” he was quoted as saying. “I’m sorry.”

The incident itself took place on May 2 of last year, the paper additionally reported.

Thompson was allegedly found with the dead goat while wearing women’s panties after a search party tried to find the temporarily lost pet animal, which had been given to the grandson of Thompson’s neighbor as a gift.

He is reportedly being held for the time being at South Central Regional Jail.