An Allentown man will serve up to 12 years behind bars for beating his girlfriend's baby with a coat hanger, then punching and shaking the child.

Luis Pearson, 25, was sentenced to five to 12 years in state prison Tuesday by Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt.

Shackled and wearing a long ponytail and short beard, Pearson didn't speak during the hearing other than to acknowledge he understood the sentence.

His attorney, Robert Long, said Pearson has mental health issues and drug problems.

In June, Pearson pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault, the most serious crime with which he was charged.

Misdemeanor charges of simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child were dropped as part of his deal.

According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Falk:

On Sept. 16, 2009, Pearson's girlfriend, Jamie McClain, asked Pearson to watch her 15-month-old son. While she was gone, Pearson became frustrated that he couldn't make the baby stop crying. He beat the baby at a N. Seventh Street home at least 15 times with a plastic coat hanger and punched the baby on both sides of his head.

When McClain returned home and saw her baby in distress, she took him to a hospital. The baby suffered a skull fracture, had welts on his head and back and had bruises all over his body. The baby did not suffer permanent brain damage and is recovering.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Bethany Zampogna said McClain knew her boyfriend had been beating the baby for three weeks but did nothing to stop it.

McClain, 20, of Macungie was charged in November with endangering the welfare of a child. She pleaded guilty to that charge, a felony, in April and was sentenced to up to 23 months in jail and one year of probation. She was paroled in May, according to court records.

Pearson has been locked up since his arrest on Sept. 28, according to court records.

It's not the first time an act of violence landed Pearson in jail. Court records show he spent time in Lehigh County Prison in 2006 for assaulting a juvenile. He pleaded guilty to simple assault in that case and was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail.

Pearson was denied parole in November 2007 because Platt said he committed "major misconducts while incarcerated."

kevin.amerman@mcall.com

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