Owner gets 2 weeks' jail after dogs maul pregnant woman

ALTHOUGH he has already paid some $225,000 in compensation, a Point Fortin man will spend two weeks in prison because he failed to secure his four dogs – three pitbull mixed breeds and a pothound.

They mauled a neighbour as she was returning home from dropping her children to school. Kurleen Cooper was bitten on the head, ears, genitals and feet.

Ronnie Maharaj appealed the severity of his sentence – eight weeks’ simple imprisonment – and his conviction for failing to secure his dogs.

He received a varied sentence of two weeks' simple imprisonment after Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Maria Wilson struck out three of the complaints against Maharaj – one for each dog.

His attorney Mohanie Mohan conceded that the magistrate who found Maharaj guilty was not unreasonable in assessing the evidence, but still complained that the two-week sentence was excessive. She asked the appeal court to vary it to a fine of $200.

Prosecutor Nigel Pilgrim disagreed, saying a fine was too lenient.

Yorke-Soo Hon said a custodial sentence was entirely appropriate, as the court had a duty to protect the public.

“A fine does not meet the justice of the case. It might send a message that you’ve paid $200 and gotten out of jail.”

Mohan asked for the sentence to be deferred, but this was denied.

Maharaj, who was at his attorney’s office and not the San Fernando High Court, was asked to remain there until the authorities arrived to take him to prison.

Yorke-Soo Hon said it was fortunate Cooper escaped death.

She said not properly controlling dangerous and vicious dogs had serious consequences and the court had a duty to protect the public from these attacks.

The incident took place on May 15, 2012. Cooper said the four dogs rushed her and started biting her while she was on the ground.

One of the pitbulls was holding under the arm, while the others were on her leg. She felt when one of the dogs “raff” her genitals and saw blood splash out. Her feet were also attacked and the “common dog,” as she described it to police, was biting her upper arm.

A passerby came to Cooper's assistance and took her to hospital. She had to have surgery on her hands. Blood was seen on the dogs – named Death, Kill, Tiger and Puppy – mouth and neck area. She was five months pregnant at the time.

Maharaj’s property was not fenced, nor were the dogs restrained or muzzled.

In his defence, he claimed his dogs were usually secured with chains at night and could not escape because they were “dogs with mange.

“They are maga dogs, they eh no big fat dog or anything like that.”

He also claimed the dogs had never escaped before and he did not know about the attack, since he had left home earlier in the morning, and when he returned in the late afternoon, the animals were tied up.