Owner of dog that savaged girl beaten in prison

1.00pm

One of two men serving a prison term for owning a dog that savaged a small girl in Auckland in February has been beaten up in prison.

Thomas Henry Owen was taken to the Emergency Department at Auckland Hospital today after he was assaulted at breakfast in Mt Eden Prison.

His lawyer Peter Boylan said it was a serious assault that the police were investigating, although it was not thought to be life threatening.

By early afternoon he was being assessed in the emergency department and his condition was described by the hospital as stable.

A Corrections Department spokeswoman confirmed there had been an assault on a Mt Eden inmate this morning, but declined to name the victim.

The inmate concerned was treated on site by Mt Eden staff then taken to hospital for checks, she said.

Mr Boylan said he was left "devastated" by the attack.

"This should not happen when someone is handed over to the prison to be looked after. He has hurt no one," he said.

He said Owen was a gentle character and he had no idea what prompted the assault. He did not know if it was gay bashing.

"If they have people in there that are that retarded, should they be somewhere else?" Mr Boylan said.

Owen lost his appeal in the High Court in Auckland yesterday against his two-month sentence and was told it was time to go to jail for the horrific dog attack which horribly disfigured seven-year-old Carolina Anderson.

Owen, aged 55, and his friend Brian Clarke Hill, 44, owned the dog that savaged Caroline.

Clark abandoned his appeal, accepted the sentence and surrendered himself to Mt Eden prison to serve his time last month.

Justice Priestley said the district court judge was "right on target" with the two-month term.

Mr Boylan argued the sentence was excessive and suggested community service instead but Justice Priestley said that was unrealistic.

He also refused to allow Owen to apply for home detention, saying the deterrent of a "short, sharp shock" was needed.

"The justice said he wanted him to have a short sharp shock. He certainly didn't have anything like this in mind," Mr Boylan said today.

- NZPA