Pit bull owner sentenced to four years in prison after dogs attack women

Published 1:00 pm Tuesday, June 28, 2016

DELPHI, Ind. — An Indiana man was sentenced to four years in jail this week after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an incident in which his pit bulls attacked two women.

Richard L. Darter, 51, was charged with eight class A misdemeanor counts of dog bite liability resulting in serious bodily injury after four of his dogs attacked two women who were walking near his home in Cutler, Ind., about 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

The women, 20-year-old Rebekah Forgey of Kokomo and 19-year-old Isabella George of Cutler, will be paid restitution under the terms of the sentence.

“I’m happy with the sentence and just glad that it’s over,” Forgey told the Logansport, Indiana Pharos Tribune. “I was ready for some closure.”

Forgey said she spent 10 days in an Indianapolis hospital as a result of the October 2015 attack, including several days in the intensive care unit, where she had four surgeries, including skin grafts on her head and right leg.

The dogs chased Forgey and George into a field across from Darter’s home and attacked them. The women were aided by a passing motorist, who drove into the field dispersed the dogs before getting Forgey and George into her car.

The four pit bulls were euthanized after the attack.

Darter, who was also hospitalized after the incident when the dogs turned on him, received a maximum sentence of one year for each misdemeanor count. He will serve four years in jail and four on probation, according to information released by Carroll County Superior Court.

Kirk writes for the Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Tribune.