A father who disciplined his son for wetting his pants was sentenced to 45 days in jail Monday following a jury decision that Kristoffer R. Wiggers, 33, assaulted the 3-year-old boy with a stream from a garden hose.
The sentence, imposed by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne, is far less than the six months sought by deputy prosecutor Janice Albert. It also was a lot more than the no-jail sentence asked by defense attorney Kathleen Kyle.
Wiggers, of Mountlake Terrace, was acquitted by a jury of the far more serious crime of second-degree assault, which could have netted him a prison sentence. It said he was guilty of fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor that could have carried a jail term of one year. He began serving his sentence Monday.
On June 12 the boy walked into Wigger’s girlfriend’s Lynnwood home and told his father he had wet his pants.
Wiggers stripped the boy, took him outside and hosed him off for several minutes, according to testimony. A neighbor heard the boy yelling for his dad to stop because he was cold. She called police.
Wiggers told the boy if he acted like an animal he’d treat him like an animal, a witness testified. Police said the outside temperature then was 64 degrees, and the water was likely colder.
Twenty-five minutes after the police were called, sheriff’s deputies arrived and found the child lying naked and shivering on a back porch.
Albert told the judge it’s apparent to her that Wiggers still doesn’t understand the seriousness of the act.
In a letter he wrote to the judge, Wiggers said this has been a difficult ordeal for him. Albert reminded the judge that there was no mention of how the event affected his child.
"Mr. Wiggers abused his position of trust," Albert said. "This was a deliberate act. This was done out of cruelty. It appears to me the only thing he’s sorry for is he got caught."
Kyle said her client has taken the incident "extremely seriously," and he wants to resume his relationship with his son.
Wiggers had custody of the boy before June 12. After that, the boy lived apart from Wiggers with his mother. He was allowed supervised visits twice a month.
The defendant told the judge he only washed his son off for 10 or 20 seconds, and that too much has been made of whole event. However, he realizes now that he should have washed his son off in the bathtub. He also apologized for his actions.
In addition, he told the judge that he had successfully completed two parenting classes since June 12.
But Wynne was not impressed.
"The court’s concern is you still don’t get it," Wynne said.
Wiggers will be on probation for two years, and is subject to serving more time if he commits another crime. The judge said he will leave it up to a family court judge to decide how much contact Wiggers is allowed to have with his son.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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