The Auckland Council wants a man whose bull-mastiff viciously mauled his four-year-old son's face to go to jail.
Manukau District Court Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Orlando Shepherd appeared in the Manukau District Court today where he was due to be sentenced but a duty lawyer on his behalf informed the judge he had recently been granted legal aid for a new lawyer.
Judge Francis Eivers postponed the sentencing until next week so Shepherd could talk to his lawyer. She said the matter had dragged on.
The council's prosecutor, Richard Marchant, said the council would be seeking a prison sentence starting at 18 months.
He urged that sentencing go ahead next week because the case was almost three years old, and said Shepherd was delaying it on purpose.
Shepherd has pleaded guilty to owning a dog causing serious injury, after the attack at their Ōtāhuhu home in 2014 left his son with serious head injuries.
The dog was euthanased a week later.
