Robert Wilkinson
Robert Wilkinson
(Courtesy Photo)
His voice wavering, Robert Wilkinson swore in Northampton County Court Friday morning that he never intended to hurt his toddler son as he threatened suicide atop the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem parking garage.
"The main thing that I would really like to convey is that I know I did harm to my wife and I terrified my child," Wilkinson, 40, said during his sentencing hearing. "I never, ever intended to hurt my little boy."
Wilkinson was in the midst of a psychological breakdown Aug. 12, 2014, when he pushed his wife out of the car and drove to the seventh floor of the parking garage, defense attorney Gavin Holihan said. Bethlehem police Patrolman Blake Kuntz and partner Michael DiLuzio were able to talk Wilkinson off of a railing of the garage.
His estranged wife Jennifer Wilkinson countered that she remains terrified of her husband. And their three-year-old son is traumatized after watching his father beat his mother, dealing with frequent nightmares. He recently told a CVS clerk, "Daddy hit mommy."
"I'm still scared given the chance he would kill me," Jennifer Wilkinson told Senior Judge Leonard Zito.
Zito said he's spent a long time considering Wilkinson's case. Wilkinson pleaded guilty to charges of simple assault and child endangerment at his formal arraignment in Northampton County Court.
"I've read this thing (the pre-sentencing report) over and over and over again because of the bizarre nature of this incident," Zito said.
Holihan asked for probation, noting Wilkinson lacked a prior criminal record, while Assistant Prosecutor Erika Farkas pushed for a jail sentence.
"He used his son as a pawn to get back at his wife," Farkas said.
Zito concluded that Wilkinson needed to be punished for his actions.
He sentenced Wilkinson to two to four months in Northampton County Prison on the child endangerment and 12 months of probation on the simple assault charge. Wilkinson is unemployed but if he had a job he'd immediately be eligible for work release, Zito said.
Wilkinson will be on probation for three years. Zito ordered Wilkinson to continue with psychological treatment and to obey a protection-from-abuse order that allows him to only contact his wife to arrange supervised visits with his son.
Zito told Wilkinson that he thought he lacked the psychological equipment to deal with anger and personal struggles. Zito pointed to his two prior failed marriages and frequent job changes.
"He was a ticking psychological time bomb," Zito said. "Tick, tick, tick...There's a tortured history here."
After his arrest, Wilkinson entered in-patient treatment at the Horsham Clinic and then out-patient treatment. He is now off medication at the recommendation of his doctor but continuing to see a counselor.
Wilkinson did not deny he was in the throes of a psychological crisis when he assaulted Jennifer Wilkinson in their car and then forced her out onto a Hellertown street. The couple were on the way to get a refill of his Xanax prescription when Jennifer Wilkinson brought up divorce, her husband said Friday.
Wilkinson lost it and began beating her. Jennifer Wilkinson said Friday he punched her in the head until she saw stars, asking "Are we still getting a divorce?"
"He said I'd never see my son again," Jennifer Wilkinson testified at an earlier hearing. "I had no idea where he was going. I was terrified that I'd never see my son again."
Wilkinson eventually drove to the top floor of the Sands parking garage and called 911.
"I don't want to hurt my son, but I don't want to live without him either," he said during the 911 call. "And I don't want to go to jail. So I don't have a lot of options right now."
Wilkinson maintains that he called 911 because he wanted to kill himself but didn't want to leave his son in a hot car in August or wandering in the garage.
"I was never going to hurt my boy," he said.
Officers DiLuzio and Kuntz, who attended the sentencing but did not speak, found Wilkinson on the ledge of the garage with his son. He quickly released the toddler and officers were able to stop him as he tried to step back on the railing.
"Those officers saved my life," Wilkinson said. "I'm grateful for that."
Farkas argued that Wilkinson's behavior showed a pattern of abuse and control.
Zito ordered Wilkinson to undergo anger management and a batterer's assessment while in jail.
After the hearing, Holihan said he felt the sentence was very fair.
"It acknowledged the harm that he did but it also acknowledged the root cause of this is a mental health issue," Holihan said.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Wilkinson's sentence on the simple assault charge.