WINCHESTER — At his sentencing in Frederick County Circuit Court on Thursday for breaking a 6-year-old boy's leg while disciplining him during homeschooling, Bryan Joseph Kim said he took responsibility his actions.
"The lessons from my mistake are not lost on me," Kim told Judge Alexander R. Iden before being sentenced to nine years with seven years suspended.
"I'm not making excuses or hiding from what I've done. I am taking actions to improve myself." But Andrew M. Robbins, deputy commonwealth's attorney, said Kim's failure to seek anger management therapy and marriage counseling since being charged in February 2019 showed he was in denial. Robbins said Kim's mother and wife, who testified on his behalf, were also in denial. Kim, of the 100 block of Little Pond Lane in the county, admitted breaking the the boy's leg while homeschooling him in a trailer on Oct. 26, 2018. The now 8-year-old boy testified he has fully recovered. Angry over the boy not doing his math correctly, Kim picked him up and slammed him down three times, causing the injury to the boy.
But Kim's mother testified she believed a story the boy told her while she drove him to the hospital that he was injured after he tripped on a bottle and fell down stairs. Kim's wife said her husband didn't seek counseling or therapy through the Department of Social Services on the advice of his attorney Thomas Lemuel Fox. While Kim's case was pending, any information from counseling or therapy through DSS could've been used against him. However, Robbins noted Kim could've sought private counseling or therapy.
"The denial the court heard through this entire proceeding is shocking and disturbing," Robbins said. "No one seems to want to accept the fact this this boy got his leg broken and spent two months in a cast." Fox countered that Kim hadn't meant to hurt the boy and immediately took him to the hospital. After Kim's wife contacted the Frederick County Sheriff's Office, Kim cooperated with police and the DSS.
In a taped interview with a DSS worker, Kim said he was stressed out due to financial and marital problems when he injured the boy. He said the problems were exacerbated by living in a crowded home with Kim's parents and grandparents.Since the case began, Fox said Kim has been training for a higher-paying job and he and his wife have sought a new home to alleviate stress. Other than a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction, Fox noted that the 32-year-old Kim has no criminal history and his pre-sentencing report indicated he has a low probability for recidivism or violence. He said Kim is willing to undergo court-ordered counseling and therapy.
"Mr. Kim has shown he is ready willing and able to comply with whatever the court says. He is trying to do everything he can to get back to his family," Fox said. "No one is trying to gloss over what has happened. We are trying to move forward. Fox asked Iden to sentence below state sentencing guideline recommendations so that Kim could return to his family. Sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of one year, 10 months to a maximum of five years, three months. Robbins asked Iden to sentence within guidelines.
Before sentencing him, Iden reminded Kim he'd taken his case to trial in June before opting to plead guilty after the first day of the trial when Iden ruled the jury could hear the DSS interview. "There needs to be a reckoning of the truth that has occurred," Iden said. "I keep hearing that it was an accident, but you pleaded guilty." Upon release, Kim will be on three years of supervised probation. He must complete an anger management course while on probation and cannot have unsupervised contact with children.
