Leonardtown, MD — A Lexington Park mother has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for abusing her two children, aged one and four. Linda Pearson, 22, was sentenced Tuesday by St. Mary’s County Circuit Court Judge Michael Stamm after she earlier had pled guilty to Second Degree Child Abuse.
Judge Stamm imposed a five-year sentence, which was the upper end of the state’s guidelines of six months to five years, but suspended all but the 18 months. Pearson will serve five-years of supervised probation after she is released.
Prosecutor Julie White told Judge Stamm during the sentencing hearing that Pearson had been given breaks in two previous cases in which she had been charged with neglect and reckless endangerment. “There is no excuse to justify what she did,” White said, adding, “She makes one horrible decision after another.” She said Pearson has a history of getting into treatment programs and then “checking out.”
Pearson’s attorney James Farmer of Waldorf noted that his client herself had a history of being abused and of parental drug use and that she herself was a drug addict. “There was a lot she had to overcome to become a good mother,” he observed.
Farmer said that the children had received bruises as the result of the assault by their mother, but there were “no permanent injuries.” He insisted “They are alright.”
Framer said his client had been attending anger management sessions at Walden Sierra and was also going to Alcohol Anonymous. “She is doing everything possible to overcome her addiction.”
Pearson told the judge there were no words she could summon to explain her actions. She assured the judge “it will never happen again.”
Judge Stamm told Pearson she had ample opportunity to “clean yourself up and do the right thing.” He pointed out her past failures at treatment. “You have anger issues and you are a drug addict,” the judge observed.
Pearson will serve her time in the local jail and the judge authorized work release. But he also prescribed drug and anger management counseling and said he would give her credit if she can get into a program and successfully complete it.”
“I don’t know if you will ever be able to get your children back with this record,” the judge concluded.