A mother, her boyfriend and an uncle are facing child endangerment charges after handcuffing a six-year-old boy who was then attacked by a pit bull.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 17 at a home in northeast Ohio, where officers received a call about the boy after he was bitten by the pit bull.
In court, Angelina Williams, the boy’s mother, argued that she did not know it was illegal to handcuff a child, after she and the other defendants allegedly did so as punishment after he failed to clean up after the dog.
He was bitten on the neck and ear and taken to a hospital but is expected to recover, his grandmother said.
Robert Michalski Jr., the boy’s uncle, was identified as the owner of the dog and the residence where the attack occurred, where Williams’ boyfriend, Taylor Desiree Marvin Brown, was also present for a family visit.
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Angelina Williams, the boy’s mother, said she didn’t know it was illegal to handcuff a child.
Taylor Desiree Marvin Brown (left), Williams’ boyfriend, and Robert Michalski Jr. (right), the boy’s uncle, were also charged. The latter is the owner of the house where the incident occurred, as well as the dog.
“The dog is not even my dog. The handcuffs are not even my handcuffs,” Williams argued in Ashland County court on Wednesday, insisting he did not know it was illegal to handcuff a child.
‘I didn’t even know handcuffs were illegal or that there was anything wrong with them.
“My uncle told me it was okay.”
Meanwhile, Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell painted a picture that sought to provide context for the disturbing chain of events, which culminated in the boy being attacked shortly after being handcuffed.
“This defendant and his co-defendants handcuffed him on both hands and then applied a second set of handcuffs to his feet,” Tunnell told the judge during the trio’s initial hearing.
‘They were in the process of using a rope to try to tie him to a chair when he fell off the chair and then while on the ground he was attacked by a pitbull.’
He added how Williams and two other co-defendants handcuffed the boy in the house that Saturday simply because he did not clean up after the dog.
Williams maintained he did not know he had done anything wrong.
“I never wanted to hurt anybody,” he said. “I really didn’t.”
The six-year-old victim, seen here with a different dog, was bitten on the neck and ear and taken to hospital but is expected to recover.
“The dog isn’t even my dog. The handcuffs aren’t even my handcuffs,” Williams argued in Ashland County court Wednesday, insisting he didn’t know what he was doing was wrong.
The prosecutor added that Williams’ daughter was also present but was not involved in the attack.
Williams does not have custody of either child, but had both of them at the time for a scheduled visitation and their father was not identified.
The boy’s grandmother, who asked not to be identified, said WSAZ-3 How is her grandson expected to recover, despite the horrific nature of the incident?
“I walked in and looked at my grandson sitting on the floor and, without swearing, I thought, ‘Why the hell is he wearing handcuffs?'” he said, recalling how he told the three defendants: ‘Get them off of me now.’
She also described how she jumped in to help him, showing the bite marks left on her hands in the process. Still, compared to her grandson, she said she was “lucky.”
“It was just a reaction when the dog did it. I automatically crouched down. I saw where the dog was going, like it was going in slow motion,” he said.
Following the attack, the boy’s mother, her boyfriend and the dog’s owner were arrested; however, according to the Ashland County Sheriff, Michalski and the dog left before deputies arrived.
Detectives added that the boy had been restrained with two sets of handcuffs, both on his hands and feet, when the dog attacked him.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 17 at this home in northeast Ohio, on Chapel Street in Ashland County.
The boy’s grandmother was also there and reportedly jumped to his rescue, receiving bites in the process.
The residence belongs to the boy’s uncle, who was found shortly after officers arrived at the scene hiding in a cubbyhole with the dog, who was also arrested.
Officers said the dog and its owner were found shortly after officers arrived at the scene, hiding in a cubbyhole.
Williams is charged with child endangerment, while Michalski is charged with child endangerment and tampering with evidence.
Meanwhile, Brown is charged with child endangerment and obstruction of justice, and his bail was set at $250,000, Michalski’s bail was set at $150,000, while Williams’ bail was set at $300,000.
The boy’s grandmother said Monday she is grateful he is recovering, more than a week after his ordeal.
“He’s a sweetheart. He really is,” she said, as the pitbull was rounded up for safekeeping as a vicious dog.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and is currently in the hands of the Ashland County District Attorney’s Office.
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