Toronto woman pleads guilty to negligence in dog attack that seriously injured child

Police handout shows the owner of the dog who attacked a child in a Toronto playground in March 2024.

TORONTO — A Toronto woman who faced multiple charges in a dog attack that seriously injured a child has pleaded guilty to some of them, including a criminal charge of negligence.

Court records show Patrycja Siarek entered the pleas in a Toronto court last Friday.

She had also been charged with infractions under the provincial Dog Owners' Liability Act and Toronto’s municipal code.

Siarek was arrested roughly a year ago after an off-leash dog bit and dragged a child in a Toronto park, leaving the child with what police described as life-altering injuries.

The dog, meanwhile, was turned over to Toronto Animal Services.

Court documents in a separate case showed Siarek and her partner had previously sparked several complaints at a Toronto condominium over the behaviour of their dogs, who were then labelled “dangerous” by the city.

The documents showed the two American pocket bullies were ordered to be kept muzzled in public areas, but the orders were ignored, and an Ontario court deemed Siarek and her partner to be “irresponsible” owners.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2025.