Sex Offender Charged With Barging Into Home, Assaulting K9 Dog

ST. PETERSBURG, Fl — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has arrested a registered sex offender after they say he assaulted and robbed a woman and then battered the sheriff's K9 that tracked him down.

According to the sheriff's office, Ralph Baynard Hudson, 51, of St. Petersburg, knocked on a woman’s home Monday at about 11:51 p.m. and asked her for $60. She told him to leave, but he reportedly forced his way inside, grabbed her by the neck, shoved her to the floor and stole a jewelry box.

Later that night, sheriff's K9 Ronin tracked Hudson to some nearby woods. When the dog caught up with Hudson, the man reportedly "grabbed K-9 Ronin by the head and ears and started to pull and strike K-9 Ronin in the head."

A deputy pulled the dog out of Hudson's grasp and arrested him. He is charged with felony burglary, battery and battery on a police animal.

Hudson was convicted of lewd and lascivious with a child under 16 in Pinellas County in 1988. He's also been charged in Pinellas County with retail theft, petit theft, burglary and possession of a stolen credit card.

Image via Pinellas Sheriff