A mum-to-be raced down the street in her dressing gown after her XL bullies went on the rampage and savaged her partner after escaping from her home.
Jessica Campbell’s partner was attacked as they tried to regain control of the dogs, named Rui and Reggie, in one of a number of incidents involving the animals.
A court heard her dad was also bitten by Reggie after being rehomed with him, and Campbell had a previous brush with the law due to the bad behaviour of Rui.
Today she was slammed by a judge who said she was “insulting” the justice system by suggesting she felt remorse over the latest incident. Liverpool Echo reports Liverpool Crown Court heard today that her dogs escaped from her address on June 28 last year.
Both the 30-year-old, who was clad in her dressing gown, and her boyfriend David Smith then gave chase in a bid to restrain the canines in Netherfield, Widnes, Cheshire.
Joanne Maxwell, prosecuting, described how she was able to grab hold of Rui as her partner attempted to control Reggie. CCTV footage played to the court showed both pets roaming around a neighbour’s front garden.
Mr Smith was then seen wrestling in the middle of the road with the dog in question before being bitten on the right forearm. He suffered “significant” puncture wounds as a result and required hospital treatment.
The court heard he answered the door to the police with his arm covered by a towel. Campbell was meanwhile said to have been “uncooperative”, only telling officers she had four dogs in her property before closing the door on them.
After police officers returned with a warrant on October 2, she “made denials” under interview before “making some admissions” during a second round of questioning on November 24.
Ms Maxwell also detailed how Reggie was then given over to the defendant’s dad but bit him on the arm after slipping its lead and attacking another person on July 23.
The dog was put down as a result of this second incident. Campbell has one previous conviction from August 2022 for being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog, relating to an incident concerning Rui in December 2021.
When told this dog remained in her care, Judge Stuart Driver KC remarked: “That is a shocking fact. I did not know that.” Carmel Wilde, defending, said on Campbell’s behalf: “She accepts that it was a terrible incident.
“It has hurt her partner, who she loves the most. She says she feels terrible about what happened.” But Judge Driver said text messages sent by Campbell in the aftermath of the incident, which were not read out during the hearing.
She said she “showed a complete lack of remorse. It is quite clear that she did not feel terrible about what happened. Rather than do the sensible thing and have it destroyed, she put it in the custody of her father.
“It was only when it attacked him that she had it destroyed. Do not insult the court by saying there is remorse, because there clearly is not.”
Ms Wilde also told the court that her client suffers from epilepsy and stated: “It was the defendant’s actions that ensured that the dog released its grip. There had not been any complaints against this dog previously.
“A further factor is, the defendant was pregnant at the time. It is hard when a dog is well loved from a puppy and is a family pet. She should have taken the decision to take the dog to be euthanised earlier, but she did eventually do that.”
When asked whether Rui was still being kept in the same house as Campbell’s six-month-old baby, Ms Wilde replied: “Yes, there have not been any issues. The dog is good for her mental wellbeing.
“She has been a dog lover for her entire life. It is classed as one of the family. There has not been any incident since the dog was subjected to that control order, and she has demonstrated that she can be a good dog owner in terms of Rui.
“She is a bright young lady who has family responsibilities. The dog lives in the family home and is under control. She was assessed as a fit and proper person to look after that dog.
“While this is a serious offence, the complainant has recovered from his injuries. They are still in a relationship.” Campbell admitted being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control in a public place.
She was handed a five-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months and banned from owning dogs for five years. Sentencing, Judge Driver said: “They were completely out of control.
“They were so big and strong that you and your partner could hardly contain them. The potential for serious injury was high. The first obvious aggravating feature is that you have a previous conviction for a section three offence, in which one of the two dogs who were out of control on this day attacked another dog. You were sentenced for that only 10 months before this incident. The other aggravating feature is your conduct after this incident.
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“In mitigation, you are in poor physical health. You are the mother to a six-month-old baby, and so immediate custody would have a significant harmful impact on the child.
“After he had been injured, you showed no remorse. You did not have the animal euthanised. You instead chose to put it in the care of your father.
“Only when the dog inevitably attacked somebody else and injured you father while he intervened did you consent to the destruction of the animal.
“You were recklessly irresponsible. I am troubled to hear that you still have possession and custody of the dog that was involved in the 2022 case and was one of the animals I have seen out of control on this video, in the home which you share with a baby.”