NORTH CAROLINA -- “I’m going home to kiss my son on the head,” said Brennan Listle on his way out of the Onslow County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon after being acquitted of child abuse charges in his son’s dog mauling last year.
Listle, 21, was found not guilty by a jury of felonious negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
Listle, 21, was found not guilty by a jury of felonious negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
 |
| The toddler was left alone in the yard with this pit bull, which the parents "had recently purchased" |
“I feel exonerated,” Listle said after the verdict was read and the presiding judge told him he was free to go. Listle said he held no malice for prosecutors and that tragic accidents like what happened to his son could happen to anyone.
His son, Brennan Listle Jr., now 2 years and 8 months old, was mauled by the family pit bull last January after Listle left him alone in the backyard to socialize with friends and smoke a cigarette. The boy was alone for about 10 minutes when a 5-month-old female German Shepard began to bark.
Listle went to check on his son and found him face down with a 17-month-old pit bull biting the back of his neck, according to testimony during the two-day trial.
The child is doing fine now and has no memory of the attack, Listle’s wife, Tiffany, testified earlier Wednesday.
During his closing argument, Assistant District Attorney J. B. Askins told jurors that it was not enough that the child is doing OK now. He said leaving the boy alone in the fenced-in backyard with two dogs was akin to locking him up in a cage with two dangerous animals.
Listle’s attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Christopher Welch said the incident was a tragic accident.
“My client made a mistake, but he was not grossly negligent,” Welch said.
Listle, a Camp Lejeune Marine corporal, said his re-enlistment has been on hold pending the outcome of the trial and he plans to sign up now that his legal troubles are behind him.
(JDNews - Feb 1, 2012)
Earlier:
