Child dog bite case moves to trial in St. Joseph

A Bridgman man, accused of lying to police about a young boy's dog bite, is headed to trial.

According to our reporting partners at the

, Douglas Essig will go on trial in December.

He's accused of owning a dangerous animal causing injury and conspiracy to make a false report.

Douglas and the boy's dad, Elex Dubar, allegedly lied to police back in July.

At the time, Dubar told NewsCenter 16 a woman was walking her dog on lake street, when the dog bit his 3-year-old son.

Police determined it wasn't true.

In court, Dubar said he and his son were sitting in Essig's van when the dog, "Logan," bit the boy.

Essig, an army combat veteran, says "Logan" is his service dog.

As for the dad, he's been sentenced to six months probation for lying to police.