Calling the case "pretty close" to the worst instance of child abuse he had ever seen, Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Clayton R. Greene sentenced a Pasadena man yesterday to 10 years in prison for beating, squeezing, burning and nearly smothering his infant son.

Greene ordered a 15-year sentence, the maximum recommended in a presentencing report, then suspended five years to keep Jeffrey D. Gardner, 34, under the court's control for as long as possible.

The structure of the sentence allows authorities to keep tabs on Gardner and to return him to prison for any infraction for up to five years after his release. If he had been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison, he could not have been placed on probation and could have been paroled for good behavior, well before serving 15 years.

Now, no matter when he is released, he will be on probation for five years.

"I think that's a good idea, to hang that time over his head," said Laura Kiessling, the assistant state's attorney who prosecuted the case.

Kiessling said Gardner abused his 6-month-old son Brett on Feb. 20, 1998, because he and his girlfriend, Candace Whiting, agreed to offer that child and another for adoption, but she changed her mind.

After the attack, the baby was treated at North Arundel Hospital and released the same day.

The couple has two other children. All three are with the mother.

The couple's relationship has been marked by violence.

Gardner was convicted in 1992 of beating Whiting's 2-year-old child from her marriage. The child also lives with Whiting.

In 1994, Gardner was convicted of beating Whiting, and in 1995, he was convicted of leaving his child unattended in a motel room.

Whiting testified on Gardner's behalf yesterday, saying they have experienced more ups than downs in their 8 1/2-year relationship and that Gardner is a good father.

Peter O'Neill, Gardner's lawyer, objected when Kiessling, the prosecutor, said that Gardner is so much larger than his son, that an attack on the boy would be akin to someone weighing more than 1,000 pounds attacking Kiessling.

Alcoholism

Greene was not impressed by that argument.

"That does not inflame me," the judge said. "The facts of the case inflame me."

Gardner apologized, saying that he did not know why he harmed the infant, but that he had not acknowledged his alcoholism and other problems until recently.

O'Neill focused on trying to get treatment for Gardner, who has a history of alcohol and drug abuse and was the victim of child abuse.

O'Neill said Gardner was beaten so badly by his father that his nose was broken.

Greene recommended that Gardner be evaluated for rehabilitation programs in prison.

The judge barred Gardner from unsupervised visits with anyone under age 18, including his children.

Greene said Gardner received a break in his January plea agreement in which he admitted to child abuse in exchange for prosecutors dropping an assault charge that could have led to a 25-year sentence.

Abuse reported

Whiting, who had reported the abuse to police nearly two hours after she saw the injuries, sobbed on a bench during and after the sentencing.

"The danger in Jeffrey is alcohol," she said. "Jeffrey is a beautiful person when he is not drinking. By locking this man up and throwing away the key -- it isn't going to help him. It's going to make him a hardened criminal."

Pub Date: 3/18/99