Katie Schultheis held up her scarred, disfigured hands to Diane Yanke, the owner of the dogs that attacked her.

“My hands hurt so much,” said Schultheis, of Canton. “I can't take my kids to the park anymore because I'm terrified of dogs now. I was an active, healthy, 38-year-old woman before this. And now I can't do anything I used to do.”

Akron Municipal Court Judge Jerry Larson on Friday sentenced Yanke, 58, to 180 days in jail for the March attacks in East Akron that injured several people. She’s also not allowed to own any animals.

“This court cannot make all of the victims here today whole,” Larson said. “That's something that is beyond my ability. I know that everybody has suffered greatly in this.”

Yanke was initially charged with 21 misdemeanors related to attacks involving her three pit bulls, which have since been put down.

Yanke pleaded no contest to seven of the charges: three first-degree misdemeanor charges for having a vicious dog, three first-degree misdemeanor charges for owning an animal that caused serious physical harm and a third-degree misdemeanor charge for a pit bull violation. The rest of the charges were dismissed.

Yanke was not taken into custody Friday. The court will schedule a restitution hearing with one victim who could not attend Friday’s sentencing in the near future, and she will be taken into custody after that hearing.

She was initially scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 20 but failed to show up for court after a motion was filed to continue the case a day before. The motion was denied, and a warrant was issued. She was arrested and charged with contempt of court, posting 10% of a $10,000 bond Sept. 24.

Yanke’s attorney, Walter Madison, expressed regret and remorse on Yanke’s behalf.

“She didn't intend for anybody to be hurt,” said Madison, who called the attacks a “very, very bad” accident and said Yanke is in mental health treatment.

Madison said Yanke was not home at the time of the attacks.

Her fiance or her brother, whom she cares for and who has cognitive and developmental delays, would have been in charge of the dogs at the time, he said.

“Those dogs were, for whatever reason, they got it in them that day to cause harm,” he said.

The only time Yanke spoke Friday was when the judge asked her about three other dogs she owns.

“They're my dogs, but they, I don't have them anymore,” she said. “I found homes for them."

Larson told her if she still has the three dogs, they must be turned over to the Humane Society of Summit County. If she doesn’t have them anymore, she has to let the court know where they are.

Victims speak

Schultheis and two other victims spoke in court, sharing how their lives have been disrupted over the last seven months.

Schultheis, who was in the neighborhood returning a dress she borrowed, hasn’t been able to return to her job as a receptionist. She started a GoFundMe, “Dog attack victim/ Haydens wheelchair lift,“ to help pay for expenses for a new wheelchair lift for her son.

Schultheis, who also has injuries to her leg, said she’s depressed and sees a trauma counselor weekly.

Betty Bennett, 58, was walking home after getting off the bus when she was attacked. A group of men driving by stopped to help her and hit the dogs with sticks to get them off her. She called them “angels.”

Bennett said the dogs bit her “all over,” including on her arms and legs and ripping the locs from her head. She also said she has nerve damage and can’t sleep at night because of the pain.

She said Yanke “should not be able to own a fly.”

“I wished to see you get the same treatment with three pit bulls attacking you, and still that's not enough,” said Bennett, her voice shaking with anger. “I thought I was going to die because of you, Diane Yanke.”

Sarah Friddle, 36, a social worker from Norton, said she was attacked while visiting an elderly client at her home.

Friddle said she has “dozens of scars” on her legs, backside and hips from the dogs that “literally ripped my flesh apart.” She ran 12.5 miles the night before the attack, training for a marathon she never ran, as she had to relearn to walk using a walker.

All three expressed frustration this isn’t the first time Yanke has been in court over her dogs.

Not first time

Akron Municipal Court records show Yanke has faced dog-related charges three other times since September 2018. She was found guilty on some of the charges in two cases, and another case was dismissed. She never served jail time in those cases.

Friddle, who said she prays for Yanke and forgave her, admonished the court for not imposing stronger sentences in the previous incidents, blaming the "non-action" of the court system for the March 4 attacks.

"I understand mistakes happen. I believe in second chances,” she said. “But repeatedly sending an offender home with no actual consequence is irresponsible and negligent of the court system."

Bennett said the sentence wasn’t enough, saying the court should "give her some years."

Schultheis and Friddle said they were satisfied with the sentence.

“I'm glad that the judge took it seriously and heard us,” Friddle said. “As much as sometimes it can feel like it's not enough, it's a significant impact on her life, like it's been a significant impact on ours, so I'm grateful that we were heard.”

Contact reporter Emily Mills at 330-996-3334, emills@thebeaconjournal.com and @EmilyMills818.