Dad found guilty of felony child abuse during visitation (Juneau, Wisconsin)

It isn't spelled out as well as it could be, but it's pretty clear that dad DANIEL BRYAN committed felony child abuse during his visitation time with his 8-year-old son. Seems Daddy figured that deliberately burning the child with a cigarette was a suitable form of discipline.

For all the times mothers are called liars about abuse, note that this child was actually pressured by his father to alter his story and lie about the abuse on Daddy's behalf.

http://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/local/article_c9b8828e-9abe-11df-b2d0-001cc4c002e0.html

Bryan found guilty of felony child abuse
By CITIZEN STAFF Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 10:08 pm

JUNEAU— A Dodge County jury found Daniel Bryan, 34, Waupun guilty of felony child abuse Tuesday, July 27, following a 2-day jury trial and six hours of deliberation.

The charge involved an allegation Bryan had intentionally burned his 8-year-old son with a cigarette.

After spending a weekend with his father in July 2009, the boy’s mother noticed that “something was wrong” with the boy’s right elbow. The boy first told his mother that he got the injury from a fall out of a wagon, but later told her that his father burned him with a lit cigarette as punishment for kicking the defendant during horseplay. The boy said the defendant blew on the end of his lit cigarette until it got “cherry red,” prior to extinguishing the cigarette on the boy’s right elbow.

At trial, the boy switched his story back to a fall from a wagon. However, Dodge County District Attorney Bill Bedker countered with testimony from Dr. Barbara Knox, a child abuse expert from UW Children’s Hospital, Madison, who examined photographs of the boy’s elbow injury and determined that the injury was definitely consistent with a cigarette burn.

Bedker said that in light of the change in the boy’s story, Dr. Knox’s medical testimony was crucial.

“Naturally, I understand that the boy still loves his father very much and was trying to protect his dad by telling the jury that he fell out of a wagon,” Bedker said. “But Dr. Knox is one of the foremost child abuse experts in the country and she said that this was a hold-on cigarette burn injury. I found her testimony to be very compelling, and ultimately I suspect the jury did too.”

After the guilty verdict was read, Judge Brian Pfitzinger ordered the Department of Corrections to recommend an appropriate sentence.

Pfitzinger said that Bryan’s sentencing will go forward in approximately 90 days. Bryan will remain free on bail pending his sentencing hearing. He faces a sentence up to eight years.