THE mother of dog attack victim Ayen Chol says she sees the terrifying image of her four-year-old daughter being mauled to death “all the time”, a court heard today.
“I have not been the same since. I cry a lot,” Jacklin Ancaito said in a victim impact statement tendered to the Sunshine Magistrates Court.
“It is like I am in a daze.” Ms Ancaito said she regularly woke up in the middle of the night in a sweat from nightmares about the attack.
Ayen Chol’s mother leaves Sunshine Magistrates Court after an earlier hearing.
Ayen had been a happy, beautiful, intelligent girl who loved painting, dancing and singing.
The girl’s father, Mawien Chol Monjang, said in his victim impact statement that he was in southern Sudan when he was told his daughter had been killed.
He had never heard of anyone being mauled to death by a dog.
Four-year-old Ayen Chol, who was tragically mauled to death by a pit bull-mastiff cross.
He told how his oldest son believed all the family should have been buried with Ayen to be with her.
Lazor Josevski, 57, the owner of the pit bull mastiff that attacked Ayen, pleaded guilty to four charges over the fatal dog attack on August 17 last year.
Josevski admitted one count of owning a dog that attacked and killed a person, two counts of owning a dog that attacked and caused serious injury and owning an unregistered dog.
Magistrate Martin Grinberg fined Josevski a total of $11,000.
Mr Grinberg said he had no doubt Josevski was remorseful.
“This is a tragedy beyond imagination,” he said.
The lawyer for Ayen’s family, Ike Nwokolo, said they accepted Josevski’s apology but more could have been done to stop the attack.
“They’re very disappointed the dog wasn’t registered,” Mr Nwokolo said.
“They believe the reason it wasn’t registered was because the owner appreciated it was a dangerous dog…
“It is a lesson to everybody to make sure that adequate precautions are taken and that dogs are just not left to wander around or left unsecured where they can cause injury,” Mr Nwokolo said, adding the family understood the magistrate could only fine Josevski.
“They are saddened it took Ayen’s death to see changes with the law.
“They want Ayen’s death to mean something.
“They want it to be a warning to all dog owners … to make sure they take all precautions necessary to ensure their dogs are not a danger to the community.”
Defence lawyer Rob Stary said having to take responsibility for the dog attack had traumatised Josevski and he felt regret and sadness for the family’s loss.
Mr Stary said the actual owner of the dog had been Josevski’s son, Nick, who had been overseas at the time of the attack.
He said Josevski accepted it was his fault the dog had killed Ayen because it was under his control.
The dog had been in the backyard when Josevski arrived at his St Albans home and parked in the garage.
He claims he thought he had closed the roller door behind him but somehow it did not shut properly and the dog escaped out on to the street.
Seconds later, the dog was running into a neighbour’s house and attacking children before Ayen was mauled to death.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Danielle Todisco said the dog ran into the house where the Chols had been staying and attacked Angelina Mayout and her daughter, Nyadeng Goaer.
The dog then grabbed Ayen who had been clinging to his mother’s leg in the kitchen.
The dog grabbed Ayen by the face and dragged her away from her mother, violently shaking her.
Ayen suffered serious injuries to her face, head and neck and later died.
The Domestic Animals Act was amended in the wake of Ayen’s death.
Under the changes, owners of dangerous dogs that cause death face 10 years’ jail.
Ayen’s family had arrived in Australia as refugees from Sudan in 2004 and were living at their cousins’ house after their own home had burned down weeks earlier.
Josevski has written a letter of apology to Ayen’s parents and offered to pay compensation.
Mr Stary said Josevski wanted to minimise the trauma suffered by the girl’s family.
Josevski faced a maximum $19,700 fine because he was charged before the new laws took effect.
The dog has been destroyed.
