SMETHPORT – A Port Allegany man was sentenced Thursday in McKean
County Court to serve at least 3 1/2 years in state prison for
shaking his 4-month-old son, causing severe and possibly permanent
injuries.
Timothy Maben, 21, of 14 Kromas Ave., was sentenced to 3 1/2 to
seven years in state prison on charges of endangering the welfare
of a child and simple assault.
Between Dec. 24 and January of this year, and again between Feb.
1 and 9, Maben was acting as caregiver for his infant son when he
roughly handled the child and carelessly placed him in his car
seat, according to First Assistant District Attorney Christa
Schott. At one time, Maben shook his son, causing a subdural
hematoma which affected the child’s hearing and vision.
When the infant was taken to the hospital for treatment of the
injuries, Maben did not provide full and accurate information to
those administering medical attention, Schott said.
The mother of the victim spoke to Judge John Yoder prior to
sentencing.
“I think (Maben) should get a lot more time than what’s in the
plea,” she said. She did not give her name before speaking.
She explained that her son still cannot see. “His right eye’s
got some vision, but that’s it.”
The baby, was born Oct. 7, 2004, is still undergoing treatment
at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, she said, explaining that
the family makes frequent trips to the hospital for the baby to be
treated.
“The victim was 4 months old at the time of the incident,”
Schott said. “The defendant was the father and had a responsibility
to care for that child.
“At age 4 months, the only way that a child can communicate is
through crying,” she said. Maben, not wanting to hear the crying
anymore, shook his son, Schott said.
“This young child has impaired vision, impaired hearing, head
swelling and increased head size,” she added.
Schott spoke of life being like a race, and said that this baby
was, in effect, pushed down at the starting line by Maben’s
actions.
“We’re never going to know if he had been able to finish that
race better or sooner or with a better time,” she said.
“It’s going to be a very long race for him … because of the acts
of the defendant,” Schott said.
“Certainly the child has suffered severe injuries,” said Maben’s
attorney, Dennis Luttenauer, agreeing with Schott that the
circumstances were tragic.
He asked Yoder to consider the defendant’s circumstances.
“He has no prior (criminal) record. There’s no indication he
intended to cause the harm that resulted,” Luttenauer said. “His
attitude towards this, he has been extremely and genuinely
remorseful.”
“I’m really sorry for what happened,” Maben said, addressing
Yoder. “I didn’t intend to cause any injury to him.”
When imposing the sentence, Yoder explained that he took several
factors into consideration, such as the nature of the offense and
the impact on the victim. Considering that, he explained his
sentence was going to be in excess of the sentencing guidelines and
in excess of the aggravated range for sentences.
“I feel that this was intentional and conscious treatment of a
young child which resulted in these injuries,” Yoder said. The baby
shows signs of Shaken Baby Syndrome.
“There’s significant concern for intercranial pressure,” Yoder
said.
Maben was sent to the State Correctional Institute at Albion for
processing and placement within the Department of Corrections.
He was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with the victim
unless it is approved by his mental health counselors.
