Man faces jail time for child abuse
A Lansdale man faces about four years of court supervision after he admitted to assaulting a 6-year-old boy during a domestic-related disturbance.
Phillip Wilson McCabe, 51, of the 700 block of Willow Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail on misdemeanor charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and unlawful restraint in connection with a November 2016 incident at the Willow Street address. Judge Steven C. Tolliver also ordered McCabe to complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning McCabe will be under court supervision for about four years.
McCabe, who pleaded guilty to the charges, will receive credit for the 10 months he served in jail while awaiting court action on the charges.
The judge added McCabe, who admitted to having a problem
with alcohol abuse, will be under addict supervision and must comply with all recommendations for treatment.
“Mr. McCabe has acknowledged he abuses alcohol. This ghost of alcohol is definitely plaguing Mr. McCabe, and he needs help and he acknowledges he needs help,” Tolliver said.
McCabe also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with an Oct. 5, 2017, minor crash in a Lansdale parking lot, a crime that occurred while he initially was free on bail in the assault case.
Before learning his fate, McCabe, a disabled veteran who claimed to suffer from post-traumatic stress after serving during Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, apologized for assaulting the child.
“I’m very disappointed in myself that this happened. I do have issues with alcohol that needs to be fixed. I need help is what I need. I am really sad and upset with myself that this happened,” McCabe said.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Britten-burg argued for a state prison term against McCabe, citing the serious nature of the charges and McCabe’s DUI arrest while free on bail.
But defense lawyer James Tone sought a county jail sentence for McCabe, arguing McCabe is remorseful and has redeeming qualities.
An investigation began at 7:19 p.m. Nov. 1, 2016, when Lansdale patrol officers were dispatched to McCabe’s residence for a reported physical domestic assault. Police made contact outside with McCabe’s wife and her two young children, and the woman told police that McCabe was drunk and had struck her 6-year-old son in the head and tried to strangle him after an argument had escalated to a physical assault, according to the criminal complaint.
When police spoke to McCabe, they observed he had signs of alcohol intoxication, including slurred speech, but he denied he had been drinking, according to the arrest affidavit. McCabe did submit to a preliminary breath test that indicated his blood alcohol concentration was 0.222 percent, according to court documents filed by Lansdale Detective Chad Bruckner.
As part of the investigation, authorities spoke to both children at the Mission Kids child advocacy center, during which they reported McCabe had been drinking all day on Nov. 1 and came out of a bedroom in the afternoon demanding his wife drive him to get more alcohol, according to the criminal complaint. When the woman refused, an argument ensued, police alleged.
McCabe tightened his hand into a fist and was about to strike his wife when the 6-year-old boy intervened to draw McCabe’s attention away from his mother, police alleged. McCabe then chased the boy and, when he caught up to the boy, knocked him to the ground, struck him in the head and then began to choke him with both hands to the point where the child could not breathe, according to the arrest affidavit.
McCabe’s wife and her other child saw McCabe choking the boy and his wife hit McCabe in the back repeatedly until he stopped assaulting the child, police said. The woman then took her children with her and fled the area in her car before calling police, the criminal complaint alleged.
One of the children expressed to investigators a feeling of being “unsafe at home,” court documents indicate.
Other charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children were dismissed against McCabe in exchange for his guilty plea to simple assault and reckless endangerment.