Two brothers have been charged with assault and reckless endangerment after their pit bulls allegedly mauled a 9-year-old boy in January.

Prosecutors say that two pit bulls that belong to Cesar Cuellar, 27, of East Meadow, and Anthony Villalta, 19, of Westbury, nearly killed the boy.

On Jan. 27, the boy was walking home from school when the two pit bulls, named Rocky and Tori, ran down Wilson Avenue without leashes and allegedly attacked the victim.

According to officials, the victim and his brother tried for several minutes to beat the dog off when two good Samaritans came and helped to get the dogs off of the victim and put him in a vehicle until emergency services arrived.

Authorities say the dogs have attacked three times before in the last few months.

In one case, Denise Boukis says her dog Apollo was attacked as she walked past the suspect's house on Wilson Avenue in Westbury. 

Boukis is suing the mother of the suspects for the attack on Apollo. The suspect's mother, Celina Villata, says they never knew the dog was dangerous.

Boukis says the attack on the boy never should have happened because she and others complained about the dogs to the village of Westbury and the town of North Hempstead.

Both Cuellar and Villalta were released on their own recognizance and are due back in court on April 21. If convicted of the top charge, the men face up to two to seven years in prison.