Man gets 5 years for sexually abusing boy

PALMER -- A Palmer man was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for the sexual abuse of a 5-year-old boy.

Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler also placed Peter M. Gerbin on seven years probation and required he be registered for 15 years as a sex offender.

Gerbin was arrested at his home in September 2002 after a grand jury indicted him on one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, an unclassified felony, and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, a class B felony.

Gerbin pleaded no contest in August to the latter charge in an agreement between the Palmer District Attorney's office and the Public Defender Agency. The more serious charge was dismissed under the agreement.

Public defender George Davenport, who represented Gerbin, asked for a one-year prison sentence, saying, "Mr. Gerbin is someone who can be rehabilitated. He has suffered, too. Mr. Gerbin's whole life has been turned upside down. He has family support and that's an important factor in

rehabilitation."

However, assistant district attorney Rachel Gernat argued that Gerbin would continue to be a threat to juveniles. She previously filed court papers citing the "extreme youth" of the victim as an aggravator as far as sentencing.

In court Monday, Gernat said the boy had just turned 5 and the event "terrified" him. She also noted an unfiled case from May 1995 which matched the details of the abuse of the 5-year-old.

In that incident, Palmer police investigated allegations that Gerbin had sexually abused a 12-year-old boy who was "mentally delayed," according to documents. Gerbin threatened the youth with harm if he told anyone, the documents said.

The mother of the 5-year-old victim spoke via telephone during the court session. Crying, she said that her son "has been very traumatized by this. Whatever sentence can be given to him is adequate."

Cutler asked if Gerbin had anything to say. He replied simply, "I'm sorry."

The judge acknowledged that Gerbin was himself victim of a serious crime. In August 1994, he was clubbed on the head with a baseball bat by a robber at the Palmer Tesoro gas station. Gerbin was in seizure from head injuries when an ambulance arrived, then-Palmer Fire Chief Dan Contini told the Frontiersman, saying Gerbin was "pretty close to death."

"I feel very bad for Mr. Gerbin and his family because he was the victim of a horrible crime, one of the most vicious beatings in our community," Cutler said.

Still, she said Gerbin not only showed "a degree of denial" for his own crime, but also may be difficult to rehabilitate due to lingering effects from the beating.

"Mr. Gerbin is likely to re-offend," Cutler said. "I believe what the state

is asking isn't a harsh sentence

recommendation."