Police and ambulance at the scene of the dog attack in Murupara in April last year.
The owner of the dogs that mauled a Japanese girl in Murupara last year was not home at the time of the attack and there was "nothing he could have done" to prevent it, a court has heard.
Gareth Clive Boyt, 35, appeared in the Rotorua District Court today before Judge David Ruth where he was discharged without conviction after previously pleading guilty to a charge of owning four Staffordshire bull terrier cross dogs that caused serious injuries to the then 7-year-old Sakurako Uehara. The charge was laid under the Dog Control Act 1996.
He was ordered to pay $7500 in reparation for emotional harm.
On the morning of March 3, 2014 Sakuraka and her parents went to Boyt's five acre property just south-east of the Murupara township, according to the police summary of facts.
Boyt was home when Sakuraka and her family arrived but left soon after. He suggested they come back when he returned but did not insist when they wished to stay and work on sanding a window frame.
Sakurako's family and the Boyts had developed a friendship through a shared interest in organic gardening. The family had been visiting the home on a daily basis and would do odd jobs in return for food.
The summary states Sakuraka and her family had spent time with the registered and trained dogs, both with and without the Boyts present. They had also been shown how to correctly handle puppies that were also on the fully enclosed property.
About midday they had lunch behind the house before Sakuraka was given permission to play with the puppies at the front. Around 10 minutes later the parents heard the dogs barking but thought nothing of it as the dogs often barked when someone passed the gate fronting onto the road.
Then they heard the bark again and what they described as a "strange sound".
The mother went to see where Sakuraka was and found her lying face down in the yard with blood all over her body. She had bite marks over her body, extreme injuries to her face and one of her ears had been torn off. She was taken to the Murupara Medical Centre before being flown to Rotorua Hospital then Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
The court heard she suffered an estimated 100 bites all over her body, lost significant amounts of blood and would need reconstructive surgery for at least the next 10 years.
Boyt's lawyer Bill Lawson said that it was a tragic event that had caused significant distress for both the victims and the Boyts.
"We have a serious injury but the level of conduct of that behaviour is extremely low," Mr Lawson said.
"That injury must be seen within the context of what conduct, if any, the defendant contributed to be a part of that process."
Mr Lawson said his client was highly respected in the community and was passionate about the environment and his animals. He is a lecturer of environmental studies.
All four adult dogs had been registered, microchipped and had kiwi aversion training. An affidavit by a vet who knew the dogs for seven years stated there was absolutely "no indication" that the dogs would attack. Mr Boyt had them all euthanised on the day.
"The circumstances of this issue is indeed difficult for the court to grapple with and as owner of the dog accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty to this charge.
"No one knows what the catalyst was or how it occured, but it occurred when Mr Boyt wasn't present. It raises what steps if any could have been taken to avoid this - there was nothing he could have done."
Mr Lawson said Boyt was in a position to challenge the charge and had grounds for defence.
"The man sitting in the dock did not want to put the victim through a protracted defence of case which could result in fault of behaviour of the victim. That speaks volumes of the character in the man in the dock.
"He is highly respected in the community, he couldn't appear in court with a better reputation, there is a concern that reputation would be marred if convicted."
Mr Lawson said Boyt would also lose the opportunity to work overseas if convicted.
Judge Ruth said a victim impact statement had been completed by Sakuraka's parents.
"The outcome can only be described as horrific."
He said in the last four weeks alone she has had 48 hours of surgical theatre treatments.
"The Middlemore Plastic Surgery Unit has said it was the worst of its kind they have ever had through there."
But Judge Ruth said the focus of the court was to determine the degree of the act that led to the outcome rather than the outcome itself.
"In my view the aspect of control [of the dogs] here is much as anyone can ask for. They have never in their history in the relationship with this child or anybody else suggested any sign of aggression like this. It remains a tragic mystery, but a mystery nonetheless," he said.
"The culpability is as one [that is] as low as anyone can find in a case."
Judge Ruth said Mr Boyt had demonstrated he was remorseful and had done a lot for his community.