Owen to sit out term in special wing

By STUART DYE

Jailed dog-owner Thomas Henry Owen will spend the rest of his sentence in a special prison wing with sex offenders, including paedophiles.

Prison bosses are moving the 55-year-old for his own protection after he was brutally assaulted just hours into his two-month sentence.

Owen was jailed on Friday. At breakfast on Saturday morning he was beaten and left with a broken nose, eye injuries, split lips and bruising to his body.

Last night he was in Mt Eden Prison's medical wing recovering from his injuries.

His lawyer, Peter Boylan, said Owen would be moved when he was well enough.

"He will go to the special protection wing away from mainstream prisoners and with people who are vulnerable.

"It is likely to be people identified as snitches, paedophiles or perhaps transsexuals who are at risk."

Mr Boylan said Owen could have been killed if his attacker had worn boots and not sneakers.

"These injuries would have been life-threatening. He is still in shock and is sore and tired."

Mr Boylan said Owen should have been identified as at-risk and sent to a safer area.

He also wants an investigation into violence at Mt Eden Prison.

But Corrections Minister Paul Swain yesterday rejected the call, saying police investigations into the incident and an internal review would be allowed to run their course.

Mr Boylan said it was "a disgrace" that inmates were not being looked after "according to the law".

He said Owen's case had been exposed simply because of media attention, but incidents went on in the prison all the time.

"If this had been bullying in a school, there would be no question of an immediate investigation.

"People in custody should be looked after and treated humanely."

Owen was likely to seek compensation, Mr Boylan said.

Prison chiefs last night insisted there was no indication Owen was at risk when he arrived at the jail.

"There was no information available to prison staff that this inmate should have been placed in compulsory segregation," said Phil McCarthy, general manager of the Public Prisons Service.

Owen had confirmed he was offered voluntary segregation when he arrived on Friday, said Mr McCarthy.

Owen, who is eligible for parole after serving half his term, was jailed after his dog attacked 7-year-old Carolina Anderson in January.

He and Brian Clarke Hill, 44, pleaded guilty in February to owning Joey, the american staffordshire terrier that mauled Carolina. They later tried unsuccessfully to overturn their pleas.

Hill, who is due to be released this week, surrendered himself to Mt Eden Prison on May 19 and has since been transferred to the medium security prison at Paremoremo.

His lawyer, Lorraine Smith, said Hill was "absolutely gutted" about the attack. "He is shattered that something like this could have happened to his friend."

A 24-year-old prison inmate will appear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow on a charge of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.