Couple Get 6 Years Each in Baby’s Rat-Bite Death : Courts: Judge says they cared more for drugs than their children. He assails O.C. social workers for not intervening.

A homeless couple whose 4-month-old son died after their pet rat bit the child more than 110 times was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison after a judge denounced them as callously indifferent parents who cared more about getting high on drugs than caring for their son.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kazaharu Makino also lashed out at county social workers who failed to intervene despite repeated complaints about the parents and their filthy living conditions--including a plea for help from the baby’s grandparents shortly before the infant’s death last August.

Kathyleen Giguere, 31, wept quietly while her husband, Steven Giguere Sr., 28, buried his face in his hands as the judge sentenced them to the maximum prison terms.

Makino said the parents could have taken simple steps to improve life for 4-month-old Steven and his 3-year-old sister, Karissa. Instead, he said, the couple used their public assistance money and earnings from begging on street corners to buy alcohol and their daily $20 fix of methamphetamine.

“These two children were solely dependent on their mother and father for their welfare. These people were given public money for the welfare of their children,” Makino said. “Instead, that money went for drugs. They used that money for their own self-interest so much that they couldn’t pay rent, they couldn’t buy food, they had to live in their car.”

Defense attorneys said their clients were devastated by the baby’s death and blamed the couple’s drug addictions for the family’s poor living conditions. Both defense lawyers asked that the parents be placed on probation and receive drug treatment. Defense attorney William Watson told the judge that Kathyleen Giguere is enrolled in an alcohol treatment program in jail. He said his client could receive no worse sentence than losing her son, whom the attorney described as the focus of Kathyleen Giguere’s life.

The judge took exception with those comments.

“Steven Jr. was far from the primary focus of her life,” Makino said. “The primary focus of her life was to get loaded, high on drugs and gratify her need for that.”

An Orange County Superior Court jury in June convicted the couple each of two counts of felony child neglect--one count for each child. Jurors also deadlocked 9-3 in favor of convicting the parents of involuntary manslaughter.

Jurors were not allowed the hear testimony about the couple’s drug use. The judge had found that introducing that evidence would be too prejudicial.

During trial, defense attorneys sought to portray the couple as victims of a tragic accident whose impoverished living standards were unfairly being held up to scrutiny. They also argued that the child was already dead--possibly from sudden infant death syndrome--when the rat attacked. But Makino said Wednesday he had little doubt the rat caused the infant’s death.

The car was parked in an Anaheim parking lot when the Aug. 26, 1993, rat-bite attack took place, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Tanizaki said he does not believe the parents were in the vehicle when the attack occurred. An autopsy shows the baby had not been fed in 24 hours and had air in his lungs at the time of death, indicating he had been crying heavily.

The parents have denied leaving the child alone. Kathyleen Giguere suggested to a probation officer that she may have slept through the attack, according to a pre-sentencing report on the case.

The couple’s daughter, now 4, lives with her grandparents. The daughter is seeing a therapist and is making progress, according to the pre-sentencing report.

The Gigueres have indicated that they want to reunite with their daughter. Kathyleen Giguere has received a birth control implant, but hopes to have another child as soon as possible to “replace” Steven Jr., according to a report prepared by the Orange County Probation Department.

Even the couple’s friends and family members criticized the Gigueres and their lifestyle. Kathyleen Giguere was depicted by her relatives as a vindictive, pathological liar who stole from those closest to her.

Kathyleen Giguere’s sister, Carolyn Ryan, told a probation officer that her sibling should be “fixed” so she can never have another child, according to court records.

When Kathyleen Giguere, who had once worked as a topless dancer and a hostess, had an older daughter from a previous relationship taken from her by Los Angeles County child welfare workers, she refused to go through the steps to regain custody, but also would not sign documents to allow the child to be adopted, court records show.

Steven Giguere, who had worked as a mechanic, also has a child from a previous relationship.

Others told probation officials that Kathyleen Giguere used drugs while she was pregnant and later while breast-feeding her son.

“Unfortunately, society takes the position that having children is a right rather than a privilege,” Deputy Probation Officer Louise Pritchard wrote in the pre-sentencing report.

She later added: “This crime is a perfect example of where society must take a stand in favor of its children.”

The case has taken its toll on the Gigueres’ relationship. Watson said he fears the couple might divorce soon in part because of the strain of the case.

On Wednesday, the judge was incredulous that authorities with the Orange County Department of Social Services did not do more to protect the children.

Gene Howard, the director of the county’s Department of Children’s Services, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

County officials had checked on the family numerous times dating back to 1990, had ordered them to clean up a trash-strewn apartment where food was allowed to spoil on counters and remained there for weeks, while floors were cluttered with empty beer cans and liquor bottles, and dog and cat feces, court records indicate.

At one point, officials found Karissa with bite marks on her face--although the records do not indicate the origin of the bites, the records also said.

In August, 1993, the children’s grandparents--Steven Sr.’s father and stepmother--lodged a complaint with the county about the Gigueres, but social workers were unable to locate the transient couple to investigate.

“It just makes you wonder what their standard is in the Department of Social Services and what is required to make them take steps to intervene,” Makino said.