On Monday, Ashland County Common Pleas Court Judge Dave Stimpert sentenced Angelina Williams (above center) to the maximum sentence of 28 1/2 years for the mauling of her son, 6, with the judge saying she set him up to be used “as a chew toy” by cuffing his hands and feet.

The sentencing comes after Williams had previously pleaded guilty on one count of kidnapping and four counts of child endangerment. She was one of three individuals charged after the death of her son on August 17, 2024.

According to a press release from the Ashland County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office at the time, the children, a 6-year-old boy and 8-year-old girl, “were being periodically restrained using handcuffs and other devices in Michalski’s home. On August 17, 2024, while the boy was restrained, he was attacked by a dog, resulting in serious physical injuries.”

The man who owned the dog and the house where the tragic mauling happened, Robert Michalski Jr. (above left), was found guilty of multiple charges in a jury trial, including two felony counts of complicity to commit endangering children and one felony count of tampering with evidence.

After a four day trial last month, jurors did find him not guilty on charges of kidnapping, possessing criminal tools and another child endangerment count, per Law & Crime at the time.

The third suspect is Taylor Marvin-Brown (above right), described as Williams’ “paramour” by the prosecution. He pleaded guilty in April to one count of obstructing justice, one count of complicity in commission of a felony (kidnapping), and two counts of complicity in commission of a felony (child endangerment).

Both of them are scheduled for sentencing later this month.

In court on Monday, Williams’ defense attorney Jennifer Harmon argued to the court that her client had come to grips with the seriousness of her actions.

Williams read a statement out where she said she understands that what happened will “probably haunt [her children] for the rest of their lives,” for which she will “never” forgive herself. Williams did not have custody of her children at the time of the attack, but they were with her for a two-week visit.

The prosecutor noted that during this visit, the children were punished when they would not want to pick up dog feces, and that punishment came with them being “handcuffed and tied to chairs.”

“Handcuffed at their ankles; handcuffed at their wrists,” said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Metcalf in court on Monday. “It’s unfathomable as far as egregiousness. I think it’s probably the worst form of the offense you could have.”

He called Williams the “most involved” of the three charged, noting that she allegedly “Snapchatted pictures of the children tied up” and shared them with other people.

“To me, that’s the worst,” Metcalf argued. “That’s an understanding of ‘not only am I doing this, but I’m kind of proud of it.'”

After weighing both sides, Judge Stimpert sided fully with the prosecution, laying into Williams himself. “Damian was handcuffed and the pit bull used him as a chew toy and the adults made up a story to cover their butts,” he said, per Law & Crime.

“Except using him as a chew toy is putting it very lightly. That dog tried to rip out his throat,” he continued. “To see the pictures of the bruising around his eyes and face from the force, the  pressure that that dog put on his throat — to see the wounds on his neck? I’m not sure there are words that adequately describe that.”

He reminded Williams that as these children’s mother, it is her duty to protect them from harm, not physically and mentally abuse them over and over. “I don’t know any mother that would think handcuffing a child’s hands and feet is a good idea, period,” he said.

“Yet not only did it, you do it multiple times,” he added, “you shared photos of it — essentially bragging about it.”

In her first court appearance back in August 2024, Williams tried to downplay her involvement, saying, “The dog is not even my dog. The cuffs are not even my cuffs,” per Fox 8. “I didn’t even know the cuffs were illegal or anything was wrong with it. My uncle told me it was OK.”

“I never meant any harm. I really didn’t,” she added.

According to the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office in August 2024, they were told a dog bit the boy on the neck and ear in a 911 call. When deputies arrived on the scene, per the sheriff, the boy was in “serious condition” and Life Flight — an air and ground critical care transport service — was called.

The boy’s mother, Williams, was identified at the scene, and was allegedly staying with a family friend of Michalski — who owned both the house and dog. Neither he nor the dog were found at the home when deputies arrived.

The case then took a turn when authorities “learned through an investigation that the 6-year-old child had been restrained with handcuffs on his hands and feet when the Pitbull attacked him,” said the sheriff.

At that point, a search warrant was executed at the home, “where deputies recovered evidence to support the investigation.” The Sheriff’s Office also claimed that while deputies were searching the home, “they found Robert and the pitbull hiding in a cubbyhole upstairs.”

Both Williams and Michalski were then taken into custody, as was Marvin-Brown, who authorities claim “was at the house and assisted with the restraining” of the child. The dog, meanwhile, was “taken into custody to be housed as a vicious dog.”