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ANIMAL WATCH - A 6-year-old boy in Cleveland, Ohio, was viciously attacked by a Pit Bull while his hands and ankles were handcuffed as a form of punishment. The attack occurred while three adults, including the boy’s mother, watched. The incident took place at a home in the village of Savannah, as reported by KCTV-5 on August 20.
According to a media release by the Sheriff’s office, the incident happened on Saturday, August 17, at a house on Chapel Street. The attack was reported by a 911 call in which the caller stated that a "Pit Bull had bitten the child on the neck and ear."
Officials say the 911 call came in at 5:06 p.m. In the call, obtained by 3News, a woman can be heard saying the boy "just got bit in the side of the neck by a dog." The caller added that they were putting pressure on the boy's neck to stop the bleeding.
When deputies arrived, they found the child’s mother, Angelina Rose Williams, with the boy, who was in “serious condition.” He was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital, WKYC reported.
Williams had reportedly been living at the home with a family member, Robert Michalski, who owned the property and the dog. Michalski had left the scene with the Pit Bull before officers arrived.
In a later report, detectives learned that the child, referred to only as “D.M.” in court records, "had been restrained with handcuffs on his hands and feet" before the Pit Bull attacked, biting him several times and inflicting serious injuries.
Investigators searched the entire residence and eventually found both Michalski and the dog hiding in an upstairs cubby hole.
ADULTS ON PREMISES ARRESTED
Michalski and Williams were arrested and transported to the Ashland County Jail. Taylor Desiree Marvin-Brown, identified as Williams’ boyfriend, was also taken into custody for allegedly assisting in the restraint of the 6-year-old victim.
The Pit Bull was captured and will be classified as a "vicious dog," according to the sheriff’s office, which added that the investigation is ongoing.
"I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS ILLEGAL TO HANDCUFF A CHILD"
Angelina Williams, the mother facing a child endangerment charge, told a judge that she didn’t know it was illegal to handcuff a child, according to the I-TEAM report on August 21.
All three defendants appeared in court on Wednesday, where Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell told the judge that Williams and the two co-defendants handcuffed the child because he did not clean up after a dog. Shortly after the boy was handcuffed, he was attacked by the Pit Bull.
“This defendant and the co-defendants handcuffed him, both hands, and then applied a second set of cuffs to his feet,” Tunnell told the judge. “They were in the process of using a rope to try and tie him to a chair when he came off the chair and, while on the ground, was attacked by a Pit Bull.”
Williams denied any responsibility, telling the judge that she didn’t know she did anything wrong.
“The dog is not even my dog. The cuffs are not even my cuffs,” she said in court. “I didn’t even know the cuffs were illegal or that anything was wrong. My uncle told me it was OK.”
The 6-year-old was bitten on the neck and ear and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment, according to the sheriff’s report.
Williams’ bond was set at $300,000, the I-TEAM reports. She and the other two co-defendants, her boyfriend and her uncle, remain in jail, with Marvin-Brown’s bond set at $250,000 and Michalski’s at $150,000. All three face charges of endangering children.
“I never meant any harm,” Williams said. “I really didn’t.”
The prosecutor told the court that Williams did not have custody of her son or her daughter. The children were with her for a visit when the incident occurred.
LEGAL GUARDIAN OF VICTIM TALKS ABOUT HIS RECOVERY
The boy’s paternal aunt, Kydhatha Castellano, identifies herself as his legal guardian and told reporters that the 6-year-old lives with her in New York but was on a two-week visit with his mother in Ohio.
She told 3News she was shocked when she got the call that he was injured, and she and her husband rushed to Ohio where he was being treated.
"It was horrible because I couldn't take his pain away," Castellano said. "But he had the biggest smile."
She also said that the boy has opened up more about the circumstances surrounding the attack, recalling that they were sitting on the couch when he told her about being handcuffed.
"He said, 'I can't believe this happened,'" Castellano recounted. "And I told him, 'I'm so sorry that this happened to you.'"
The boy replied, 'It was because I was crying, and he [the Pit Bull] didn't like that I was crying.'"
Despite the attack, Castellano said the boy isn't scared of dogs right now. "He just said that the dog made a bad choice, and that he just needs to go and learn."
When he joined the video call, 3News asked him what he wanted other kids to know. He responded that he wanted them "to be brave at hospitals."
BABY KILLED BY TWO PIT BULLS WHILE PARENTS LEAVE TO SMOKE MARIJUANA
The parents of a 3-month-old baby mauled to death in upstate New York by at least one dog earlier this month have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the infant's death.
The fatal attack occurred during the early afternoon hours when the baby boy was left sleeping in the attic of a Rochester home, alone except for two Pit Bulls, according to Rochester Police Department Capt. Greg Bello.
Police reports indicate that the boy’s 19-year-old mother and father, Anastasia Weaver and Sulamain Hawkins Sr., had been staying in the unfinished attic of a multi-family residence on Bidwell Terrace.
The family did not live in the home but were known to the occupants and occasionally stayed there, Bello said. Some neighbors believed the couple had been there for about a month.
POLICE REPORT
“About 1 p.m. on the day of the attack, the baby's parents allegedly left the infant sleeping on the floor in the attic while they went downstairs to smoke marijuana, leaving the two 'pit bull type' dogs with the child,” according to Captain Bello. “When they returned, they found the baby had been killed by the dogs.”
One neighbor reportedly stated, "I saw the baby on the stretcher, and it just broke my heart." She added, "I didn't have a clue until later when I saw animal control."
Sulamain Hawkins Sr. and Anastasia Weaver stood before a judge in Rochester City Court and entered not-guilty pleas to felony second-degree manslaughter charges.
Bail was set at $15,000 cash each for Hawkins and Weaver. The pair is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday.
TRENDING: TOO LITTLE EMPHASIS ON SERIOUSNESS OF OWNING PIT BULLS
In both of these tragedies, the parents were young and seemingly unprepared for the responsibilities of parenthood. Overcrowded shelters, large “humane” organizations, pet-product providers, and rescuers have created an artificial and lucrative narrative that "love is a dog and an identity," especially when it comes to Pit Bulls.
This mindset minimizes the responsibilities, costs, and challenges of pet ownership, while ignoring the responsibility to family members and the community, who should not be subjected to dogs that can needlessly and violently attack. What possible threat could a tiny baby or a young boy pose to an adult Pit Bull?
The lack of animal-law enforcement and the consequences of lax enforcement of even basic licensing and vaccination laws further exacerbate these dangers. This societal neglect unfairly impacts all those who become victims.
In this case, Rochester Animal Services euthanized both dogs, according to police, and should be commended for acting swiftly and responsibly.
RESOURCES FOR CHILD ABUSE
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.\
(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a former Los Angeles City employee, an animal activist and a contributor to CityWatch.)
