Adoptive dad in Orlando gets probation on son-abuse charge
By Sarah Lundy, Sentinel Staff Writer
An Orlando man accused of abusing his adopted Guatemalan son last May was sentenced to two years' probation on Monday.
Brian Kloosterman, 34, the husband of pathologist and hematologist Dr. Stephanie Schreiner, pleaded no contest to child abuse, a third-degree felony.
If he went to trial and were convicted, he could have faced up to five years in prison.
"It's something he didn't want to put his family through, so he chose to take the deal," said Kloosterman's attorney David Bigney.
Prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick dropped the misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor.
Orange Circuit Court Judge F. Rand Wallis ordered Kloosterman to two years' probation but gave the stay-at-home dad the option of asking to end his probation after a year if he follows all the rules.
Wallis withheld adjudication, which means no criminal conviction will be on his record if Kloosterman stays out of trouble.
The charges stem from allegations made by the family's former nanny, who told police she watched Kloosterman on a surveillance monitor in May, "snapping [the boy] in the face with the little boy's own underwear" and pinning the screaming child to a bed.
Kloosterman's attorneys said the charge would have been hard to prove. No injuries were found the day after the accusations, but a small bruise was seen 36 hours later.
"A nanny saw something that looked like something was going on, but in fact was nothing when the child was examined," said Kloosterman's other attorney, Will Jay.
Kloosterman and Schreiner are the parents of five young children, including four adopted from Guatemala.
The State Attorney's Office is still investigating a separate child-abuse complaint from 2007.
In that incident, it is alleged that Kloosterman, a former emergency medical technician, shook and injured the couple's 9-month-old adopted baby girl.
Details of that incident have not been released, and charges have not been filed.