Delco man sentenced to probation for hitting and choking his grandson
Carl Haner IV helps run Gratitude for Grandparents, an organization supporting grandparents raising their grandchildren, as he and his wife are.
A Media man who was convicted of assaulting his grandson while attempting to punish the boy was sentenced this week to 18 months of probation.
Carl Haner IV, 69, tearfully professed remorse during a hearing before Delaware County Court Judge Dominic Pileggi, saying he never meant to hurt his grandson, who was 11 at the time.
“I take full responsibility,” Haner said, “for everything.”
In August, a county jury found Haner guilty of simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child for dragging his grandson up the stairs of their home, slamming his head into a wall and squeezing his neck to the point that he had trouble breathing and his vision blurred.
The jury acquitted him of more serious charges, including aggravated assault.
Assistant District Attorney Bryan Barth asked Pileggi to sentence Haner to three years of probation, and credited Haner for receiving treatment for issues with alcohol that the prosecutor said may have contributed to his behavior.
Still, Barth said that Haner’s actions deserve punishment.
“Do I think the defendant needs to be in jail? No, I do not,” Barth said. “But I think, based on the testimony of the victim, it painted a picture of what was going on in that house.”
Haner’s attorney, Chris Boggs, asked for a year of probation, saying that evidence at trial showed the abuse was part of “the worst day of their lives,” and was not nearly as extensive and routine as prosecutors had portrayed it to be.
The boy told prosecutors that Haner and his wife, Rhea Kelsall, would sometimes hit him and his brother as a form of punishment. Kelsall was charged alongside Haner with endangering the welfare of children, but was acquitted at trial in August.
Speaking at Haner’s sentencing, Kelsall, 67, asked Pileggi for leniency. She explained that she and Haner married later in life, and each had lost a son to the opioid epidemic.
They took on the role of parenting two of their grandsons, and Kelsall founded a nonprofit, Gratitude for Grandparents, to provide resources to other grandparents in similar positions.
“It has truly broken his heart that his grandchild has even felt fear, as that was never his intent,” Kelsall said.
She, along with Haner’s two sisters, described Haner’s history of volunteer work, as well as what they called his unwavering dedication to helping loved ones in need.
“Your honor, Carl is a good man,” Kelsall said. “Honorable, respectful, deeply devoted to his family and community.”