The teenage owner of an XL bully that left a baby girl in a coma after a savage attack has been spared jail.
The baby had to be airlifted to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma following the mauling which left the infant with two skull fractures and suffering brain haemorrhages.
Jordan Williams, then aged 18, was upstairs in his bedroom when this dog pounced on the child, biting her head and face in the frenzied attack.
Horrified onlookers struggled to pull the 18-month-old dog, named Hunter, off the baby girl, who spent three weeks in hospital recovering.
Even after the dog had been dragged off the youngster, it was said to be ‘trying to go back for more’.
But despite the mauling, and knowing his XL bully was a risk to children at the time of the attack, Williams has avoided an immediate jail term.
Canterbury Crown Court heard he had even been bitten himself by the dog the year before, in an incident that should have ‘put him on alert’ to the danger it posed.
On that occasion, Williams was attacked as he intervened when Hunter fought with another animal over food.
Jordan Williams, then aged 18, was upstairs in his bedroom when this dog pounced on the child, biting her head and face in the frenzied attack
Horrified onlookers struggled to pull the 18-month-old dog, named Hunter, off the baby girl, who spent three weeks in hospital recovering
Although the injuries were not serious, the prosecutor said the episode should have served as a clear warning about the risks posed by the breed.
Following the earlier incident, Williams was issued with a community resolution that included a condition the dog must not be left unattended or unsupervised in the presence of a child at any time.
However, although two people were present when the dog later attacked the baby, the level of supervision was described as inadequate.
The court was told the infant was a visitor at an address in Hawkinge near Folkestone in December 2024 when Hunter suddenly turned aggressive.
Detailing the incident, prosecutor Peter Forbes said Williams, who knew the child was in the house, was upstairs in his bedroom while the dog roamed freely, as usual, downstairs.
Initially, Hunter came into the living room ‘sniffing around’ as if to say ‘hello’ before walking away, the witness told police.
But it was once the baby, who cannot be identified due to reporting restrictions imposed by the judge at the sentencing hearing, had been moved from a lap and onto the floor that the pet attacked.
‘Hunter has just come over and then he done [sic] like a growl. Not a vicious type of growl but like a little “I’m warning you'” type of growl,’ the witness said.
‘I’ve gone “Hunter, no, don’t”, gone to get [the baby] and the dog has attacked from behind or the side.’
She then described their efforts to pull the dog off, with their screams alerting Williams, who also assisted.
Even once the baby had been rescued, Hunter was said to be ‘trying to go back for more’.
The baby’s injuries, which also included thigh tissue damage, were so serious that she had to be airlifted to King’s College Hospital.
One of those who witnessed the attack later told police in a statement read at Williams’s sentencing hearing on Friday: ‘It was just crazy, so unexpected.
‘He just came over, done the growl and, as I have gone down [to pick up the child], he was there.
‘I was just a second too late.’
The youngster spent three weeks in hospital but was said to have made a ‘remarkable recovery’, meeting and exceeding developmental milestones.
Police seized Hunter following the attack and the dog was later euthanised.
Williams, now 19, and of Siskin Close, Hawkinge, later pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control.
The court heard he had acquired Hunter aged just 17 after responding to a request to ‘save’ the dog from the possibility of being put down when new laws on owning and selling the breed were being brought into force.
Williams obtained an exemption certificate online and insurance as required under the legislation.
He allowed the dog to sleep in his bed but admitted he did not trust anyone other than himself to walk it because of its strength.
However, Hunter did not like being muzzled in public – another restriction imposed by law – and so his walking became limited to a private field.
In the month before the attack, the court was told the dog’s only exercise came from playing.
Referring to the incident in which Williams was bitten in late 2023, the prosecutor said: ‘In addition to being a prohibited breed requiring regulation, which should have highlighted the potential danger, the previous incident should have served as further warning that the dog might bite humans and put the owner on alert, particularly around children.
‘The fact it was registered makes it no less of a threat.
‘The fact there had been a bite and a fight with another dog should have underlined that threat.’
Police seized Hunter following the attack and the dog was later euthanised
It was also highlighted during proceedings that the minimum age for applying for an online exemption certificate was 16, and that the regulations only imposed restrictions on the breed when in public.
‘They don’t impose restrictions when there are children in a household or require the dog to be secured in a particular area of a house,’ said Mr Forbes.
Although Williams was 17 when Hunter came into his ownership, the court was told he lacked the maturity to care for such a dog.
‘He was a well-meaning but wholly out-of-his-depth young man who found himself in an arrangement to which he was plainly not suited,’ said defence lawyer, Phil Rowley.
But expressing the teen’s genuine remorse, he added: ‘There is obviously heartfelt concern.
‘To know one is ultimately responsible for the infliction of harm on a child is a terrible thing.’
Passing sentence, Judge Simon Taylor KC spoke of his concerns over the introduction of a ‘weaponised canine’ into an already ‘challenging’ household, and also cited Williams’s immaturity, difficult childhood and struggles with autism.
‘You acquired the dog when you were 17 and your intention was to save the dog from the impending ban,’ he told Williams.
‘You weren’t much more than a child yourself and, in law, you were a child because you were under 18.’
Judge Taylor also highlighted the need for ‘extra attention and vigilance’ with such a breed, and how that should have been ‘enforced’ when Williams was bitten.
But, having described the attack on the infant as ‘deeply distressing’, he added: ‘It is right to reflect – and it is probably the best thing to come out of this – that [the child] has made a remarkable recovery and continues to meet and exceed milestones.’
Williams, who is on benefits, was handed a six-month custodial term suspended for 12 months with 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also disqualified from keeping a dog for six years and ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs within six months.
Judge Taylor told the court that in deciding the appropriate punishment he had taken into account the teenager’s age, genuine remorse, adverse childhood experiences and good prospects of rehabilitation in the community.
Although it was not said during the sentencing hearing, Kent Police has previously confirmed that Williams, having been bit by Hunter, was asked to voluntarily surrender the animal to be put down but he declined.
A force spokesperson added there were no legal grounds for officers to retain the dog in such circumstances.
A woman in her 70s and from Hawkinge was also arrested at the time and subsequently charged with a similar offence.
However, the case against her was dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence earlier this year.
