Darwin man Yianis Dimitrios Skopellos pleads not guilty to causing harm while beating dogs with broom, thong
A Darwin man has been cleared of harming his dogs, after neighbours filmed them yelping, whimpering and crying as he hit them with a broom and a thong. See why he could still have his pets taken away from him.
Police & Courts
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A Darwin man who beat his dogs with a thong and a broom has claimed he never intended to harm his “spoiled” “princess”.
Yianis Dimitrios Skopellos pleaded not guilty to causing harm when he whacked his two pet dogs during two outbursts in early 2024.
On Monday, the 34-year-old told Judge Sally Ozolin while he did smack his pets, it was just as a “deterrent” after they peed on his bed and bit his hand.
Mr Skopellos told the Darwin Local Court he “became enraged” when his American bulldog-cross, Ragnar, urinated on him and his bed on January 23, 2024.
Neighbours heard the Wulagi man yelling at his dog: “You’ve got no f—king respect. You’ve pissed in my bed. You f—king arsehole”.
Mr Skopellos has admitted to grabbing a rubber thong and slapping his dog four times on the bottom.
A video played to the court captured the sounds of his dog whimpering, crying and yelping following the thwacking sound of the rubber shoe.
Only a month later, neighbours recorded Mr Skopellos beating his four-year-old dog, Domino, with a broom on February 19.
Mr Skopellos said she “had a crack” at Ragnar in his house, and while he was trying to break up the right she “took a little bit of a chunk out” of his right finger.
“I was upset because she bit me, and she’s never really done that before,” he said.
Mr Skopellos said he put Domino on her lead, took her to the backyard and whacked her six times with a broom.
Despite shaky mobile photo footage capturing Mr Skopellos raising the broom over his head before swinging it down, he maintained he was not hitting her hard.
“It’s straw, it’s hollow, it makes more of a noise than anything,” he said.
Mr Skopellos said the hollow brush was common in “most Asian households”, and while the noise was significant the actual impact was minimal.
“It does no real damage, I used to get smacked with them all the time growing up,” he said.
“My grandma used to use them when me and my cousins were fighting.
“I would never call that abuse.”
Prosecutor Jon Bortoli asked Mr Skopellos if it was appropriate to hit the dogs he loved with a thong or a broom.
“I regretted it as soon as I did it,” Mr Skopellos responded.
“I overreacted in the smacking, but I don’t think I was excessive.”
Mr Bortoli said the whimpering sounds of his dogs suggested they were in “distress”, but Mr Skopellos said they were just being “sooky” and “dramatic”.
“They’re very spoiled dogs, and very vocal,” he said.
Mr Skopellos maintained he was still a good pet owner, as they were well fed, regularly exercised, with “my girl Domino” getting the “princess treatment” and sleeping on the bed each night since she was a puppy.
“I love them so much,” he said.
“I treat them like people.”
His lawyer Peter Maley told the court the case boiled down to whether the two dogs suffered “harm” from the beatings, with neither pet requiring any veterinary checks or suffering injuries as a result of the smacks.
On Tuesday Ms Ozolins said despite a recording of Rangar “screeching” while being beaten by the thong, she was unable to find beyond a reasonable doubt the dog suffered harm.
However she found Mr Skopellos guilty of failing to provide a minimum level of care for Domino after beating her to the head with the broom.
Ms Ozolins said mobile phone footage of the beating captured her squeals and each of the six whacks, however she was unable to determine if the dog’s body language was “a sign of pain... or discomfort”.
However she said Mr Skopellos failed in his duties toward his dog, stating Domino was “dragged across the yard before being beaten” and “little care was taken by the defendant as to where the blows were struck”.
Ms Ozolins said it was clear Domino was trying to avoid being hit in the head, struggling with her lead as her owner beat her.
Mr Bortoli flagged with Ms Ozolins this was not the first time Mr Skopellos had been found guilty of mistreating his dogs.
Last year, he was found guilty of intentionally beating an animal after footage of him repeatedly punching his dog, Drax, as his partner begged him to stop was circulated on social media.
Both dogs have been seized by Animal Welfare authorities for the past nine months, and on Wednesday, Mr Bortoli said prosecutors were seeking to permanently remove Domino and Rangar from Mr Skopellos’s care.
As this was said, Mr Skopellos sunk into his chair and put his head in his hands.
Ms Ozolins adjourned the matter for sentencing to March 27, where Mr Skopellos also faces another charge of aggravated assault.
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