UPDATE: Father charged after son mauled by pit bull

February 04, 2011 3:30 PM
LINDELL KAY

article

Updated at 6:52 p.m.

Authorities have charged a Camp Lejeune Marine with felony child abuse for allegedly leaving his son alone in their backyard where the toddler was mauled by a pit bull.

Brennan Michael Listle, of Horse Shoe Bend, was charged Friday by Onslow County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Getty with child abuse causing serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile by neglect.

Accompanied by his attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Chris Welch, Listle, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, was served with arrest warrants and given an unsecured $250,000 bond. His first court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 7.

Authorities said that Listle allowed his 22-month-old son to play alone in their backyard between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday without adult supervision while Listle was socializing with friends. A 5-month-old female German Shepard and a 17-month-old male pit bull were also in the fenced-in yard. The pit bull was secured to a tree with approximately 10 feet of cable, Sheriff Ed Brown said in a news release.

After about 10 minutes, the German Shepard’s barking alerted Listle something was wrong and he went to his backyard and found his son “face down, unconscious, with the pit bull mauling him,” according to warrants.

“The child was transported by EMS to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune and then airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital where he underwent two surgeries for his injuries which included neck fractures of the cervical spine, which was a fracture in two of the seven bones — vertebrae C6 and C7— in the neck cervical region,” Brown said.

The child’s external wounds will require skin grafting, according to authorities.

Brown said he is not sure of the fate of the pit bull. He said the dog has had three other owners before Listle and was given away each time because of issues, including mauling a cat to death.

Updated at 5:39 p.m.

The child was transported by EMS to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune and then air lifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital where he underwent two surgeries for his injuries which included neck fractures of the cervical spine, which was a fracture in two of the seven bones, vertebrae C6 and C7, in the neck cervical region, according to the Onslow County Sheriff's Office. The child’s external wounds will need skin grafting at a later date.

Authorities have charged a Camp Lejeune Marine with felony child abuse for allegedly leaving his son alone in their backyard where the toddler was mauled by a pit bull.

Brennan Michael Listle, 20, of Horse Shoe Bend, was charged Friday by Onslow County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Getty with child abuse causing serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile by neglect. Listle, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, was given a $250,000 unsecured bond.

Listle is accused of allowing his 22-month-old son to play alone in their backyard Sunday without adult supervision with a 5-month-old female German Shepard and a 17-month-old male pit bull. The pit bull was secured to a tree with approximately 10 feet of cable, according to warrants.

After about 10 minutes, the German Shepard’s barking alerted Listle something was wrong and he went to his backyard to find his son “face down, unconscious, with the pit bull mauling him,” according to warrants.

Information about the toddler's condition is not yet available.