HOBART | A Hobart man arrested and jailed for public safety reasons is back home after serving two weeks in jail, officials confirmed Monday.

Michael Bessigano, 37, was released Wednesday from the Lake County Jail, said Lake County Sheriff's Department spokesman Michael Higgins.

Bessigano previously served more than four years at the Westville Correctional Facility after he was convicted of having sex with a chicken.

Most recently, Bessigano was arrested by Hobart police June 12 at a community pool near the Barrington Ridge home where he resides with his mother and brother.

The warrant for his arrest was made because of public safety reasons, said Yvette Salinas, Gary Parole District supervisor for the Indiana Department of Correction.

Salinas said Bessigano will be on parole for about eight more days.

She said Monday she still is unable to elaborate on her department's reason for arresting Bessigano other than that it was a matter of public safety for the community and for Bessigano.

Bessigano, who was convicted of animal cruelty and theft in 2002, was released from Westville Correctional Facility on Jan. 29.

According to court records, he stole a chicken from a farm and had sex with the bird in a Valparaiso motel room. The bird died, and Bessigano discarded the carcass.

He also was convicted of animal cruelty in 1993 for a matter involving a dog.

Bessigano's offense, animal cruelty, does not require him to be registered as a sexual or violent offender, said Ross Haeger, program coordinator of the state registry.