Dog owner starts prison sentence

By CLAIRE TREVETT

One owner of the dog that mauled Carolina Anderson has spent his first night in jail after giving up on a bid to have his sentence changed.

Just weeks after an attempt to change his guilty plea failed, Brian Clarke Hill, 44, walked into Mt Eden prison yesterday to begin a two-month sentence.

He and his lawyer, Lorraine Smith, were met by the prison superintendent and a guard, who took them to a nearby bus stop to talk.

"This is what I couldn't get over - she's a very, very busy superintendent of a very big prison and she came out with a prison officer," said Mrs Smith.

"They sat down in the bus shelter and just made sure this is exactly what he [Hill] wanted to do ... "

In February, Hill and his flatmate, Thomas Henry Owen, pleaded guilty to a joint charge of owning the dog that seriously injured 7-year-old Carolina Anderson.

An application to reverse their plea was denied in the Auckland District Court on May 6, but both men had appealed against their sentences to the High Court.

Mrs Smith said Hill told her last Thursday that he wanted to halt the High Court appeal.

She asked him to think about it over the weekend.

"He said he turned round in court and saw the look of pain on Mr and Mrs Anderson's faces and he thought, 'This has got to stop. I can't put them through this again in the High Court'."

A spokesperson for Carolina's family said they were happy Hill had decided to serve the sentence.

However, it would have been nice if it had been the initial response, rather than taking it to appeal.

Hill told Mrs Smith the case was a tragedy for everybody involved.

"Nobody's won in this case; everyone's been a loser. So hopefully some good will come out of it and hopefully little Carolina will heal quickly."

She said Hill viewed his prison sentence as "part of his life's journey".

"He will get on and do his time ... and if he can help people in there, he will.

"He has a bright personality and a cheerful personality and I know that anything he can do to help people less fortunate than himself in prison, he'll do that, because we've talked about it and the sort of things he can do, including just listening. He is a very good listener."

Hill's move came just two weeks after Judge James O'Donovan denied the men's application to change their original plea to not guilty and have the case reheard.

Mrs Smith said Hill had abandoned a further appeal to have the original sentence changed.

She said nobody would ever know for sure whether Hill's dog Joey was the one responsible for the attack.

Owen would still appeal against the sentence in a hearing on July 13.