PORT ANGELES — A family dog that mauled an 11-year-old boy who was left home alone on Feb. 3 had a prior history of violence, the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office said today.
Matthew B. Sims, 38, the boy’s father, was arraigned today on a charge of dangerous dog attack, meaning he “knew or should have known the dog was potentially dangerous” because it had attacked a person in 2005 in Alaska, Deputy Prosecutor Ann
Lundwall said in an amended complaint she filed today in Clallam County Superior Court.
Sims left his son, James Sims, alone in their Port Angeles home when the dog, allegedly unprovoked, bit the boy’s face, hands and arms.
James was treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and is recuperating in foster care. He is in the custody of state Child Protective Services.
The dangerous dog charge against his father is a felony. It was upgraded from reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor.
A dangerous dog attack is punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for the owner.
Sims also is charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a motorcycle reported stolen from Auburn.
Possession of a stolen motor vehicle is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.
Sims left his son alone with the dog, named Jack, to steal a motorcycle, police said.
Sims pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment.
