BURNETT COUNTY — A Polk County man has been sentenced in Burnett County Circuit Court regarding numerous criminal charges including attempted homicide. The Court has ordered Charles Beenken, of Frederic, WI, to serve a 20-year term of commitment in a state mental health facility regarding his criminal charges stemming from an incident that occurred in November 2018.
DrydenWire.com reported on January 6, 2019, that Beenken was facing multiple criminal charges after law enforcement responded to a 911 call for assistance in November 2018. The individual who called 911 had escaped the residence and told law enforcement that the suspect had choked a 5-year-old child and was still at the residence.
When Law Enforcement responded to the residence, they found a child who had sustained injuries including a broken orbital bone, broken sinus cavity, bleeding in the sinus cavity, and a subdural hematoma between his skull and brain.
The 911 caller told Law Enforcement that at one point Beenken held both her face and the child’s face to the floor, demanding that they each tell him that they love him, and stating that he was going to kill them both. The child told investigators that during the incident, Beenken dragged him down the steps and then started punching him “everywhere”.
Beenken was located a short time later and taken into custody. The following charges were filed against Beenken: two counts of Class B Felony Attempt First Degree Intentional Homicide (with a maximum sentence of 60 years imprisonment); two counts of Class H Felony False Imprisonment (with a maximum sentence of 6 years imprisonment); one count of Class C Felony Physical Abuse of Child-Intentionally Cause Great Harm (with a maximum sentence of 40 years imprisonment); one count of Class H Felony Strangulation and Suffocation (with a maximum sentence of 6 years imprisonment); two counts of Class H Felony Bail Jumping (with a maximum sentence of 6 years imprisonment); one count of Misdemeanor Battery (with a maximum sentence of 9 months imprisonment); one count of Misdemeanor Possession of THC (Marijuana) (with a maximum sentence of 6 months imprisonment); and one count of Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (with a maximum sentence of 30 days imprisonment).
In addition, Beenken was charged with Class H Felony Bail Jumping, Misdemeanor Domestic Battery, and Misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct in a separate case filed against him in Burnett County in November 2018.
Online circuit court records show that at a hearing on October 28, 2019, the Court accepted a plea from Beenken regarding his charge of Class C Felony Physical Abuse of Child-Intentionally Cause Great Harm, and found Beenken not guilty by reason of mental disease and/or defect. The remaining charges filed against Beenken were dismissed but read in.
The Court ordered Beenken to be immediately committed for 20 years to a mental health facility. He will be eligible to petition for release 6 months after commitment. Beenken must demonstrate he is no longer a danger to self, others, and is fit to return to society in order to qualify for release.
Last Update: Oct 31, 2019 7:35 am CDT
