A Glen Burnie man was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for assaulting
his 5-month-old son last year.
Andre Nathaniel Robinson, 31, looked around in disbelief after the sentence was read and yelled for his wife to tell the judge that he had not hurt their son on purpose.
"She's a liar!" he shouted repeatedly while his family members wept in the Annapolis courtroom.
Circuit Court Judge Paul A. Hackner didn't comment on the case; he simply read the sentence of 25 years with all but 20 years suspended. After Robinson is released, he'll be on probation for five years. He also was ordered not to have contact with his wife or son.
Police and prosecutors said the baby was brought to Baltimore Washington Medical Center with burns on his face, the right side of his chest and his right arm. Robinson told hospital officials he put the baby in the bathtub in his home on Klagg Court in Glen Burnie with the water running, then flushed the toilet, which made the water heat up quickly.
He initially didn't take the baby to the hospital, instead trying to treat him on his own.
By the time the family brought the baby to the hospital he was near death, charging documents state.
Robinson entered an Alford plea to the crime last month. An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain his innocence while admitting that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him. It carries all the consequences of a guilty plea.
Though Assistant Public Defender Ginina Stevenson reiterated that Robinson hurt his son by accident, Assistant State's Attorney Pamela Alban said the state's evidence would show that the water had been heated up.
Evidence would also show that water from the tap in the house - even after the toilet was flushed - could not reach the 150 degrees that doctors believe was the temperature of the water that injured the baby, Alban said.
Additionally, the burn marks were inconsistent with Robinson's version of events, according to police.
Alban said during the sentencing hearing that it was not the first time Robinson had used extremely hot water as a weapon. In April, he was accused of throwing scalding water on his wife twice in one day after they had an argument.
She did not get treatment at the time, but months later doctors could still see the scars, which were consistent with water burns, charging documents state.
The burn marks on their son were "etched burns" caused by water that was hotter than 150 degrees, Alban said. The burns caused the infant "extreme pain" and injuries for which he has already had several surgeries. He will require more surgeries as he grows.
"His skin can't grow with him," Alban said.
"He will be scarred for the rest of his life."
Stevenson said her client was remorseful about what happened and was often in tears when they met to discuss his case.
"My client has maintained from the beginning, your honor, that he loved his son, he wouldn't do anything to hurt him," Stevenson said.
Shirley Robinson, the defendant's mother, backed up Stevenson's statement.
"I know Andre has made mistakes in his life, but as far as his son, he loves him with all his heart," she said in a statement to the court.
"Andre didn't mean any harm. 
That's his blood."
Stevenson explained that he was giving his son water from the tap when the incident happened. He had just flushed the toilet and he realized too late that the water was too hot, he said.
His wife was in the other room at the time, but the door was open, he said in court.
"She knows I didn't do this intentionally," he said.
He did admit to using bad judgment in not taking the boy to the hospital immediately. Instead, Robinson said he used cocoa butter and Neosporin to try to treat the burn himself. When he realized the extent of the injury he called his mother, who took them to the hospital, he said.
He also admitted to the water-throwing incident in April with his wife. They were having an argument while he was heating water in the microwave, and he threw it on her, he said.
"I was very upset," he said.
