RED LAKE COUNTY, MN (trfnews.i234.me) — Joseph Cole Wulfson, 34, from Brooks, Minnesota, was scheduled for trial this week on charges including felony child torture. On December 31, he entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of malicious punishment of a child causing substantial bodily harm.
This felony carries a potential five-year prison term. However, court documents indicate a plea agreement proposing a 30-month sentence, stayed during a five-year supervised probation period. If the court approves this arrangement at the sentencing hearing on February 2, Wulfson would be released from custody, with incarceration contingent upon probation violations.
Probation conditions are pending and may be influenced by forthcoming chemical dependency and domestic abuse evaluations.
The charges stem from a July incident where law enforcement reviewed video evidence allegedly showing Wulfson headbutting, hitting, and shoving a 12-year-old child approximately 25 times over two and a half minutes. A sibling reported that Wulfson became upset over kitchen safety concerns and dishonesty. Wulfson acknowledged to police that his disciplinary actions were excessive.
I’m Chris Harper, reporting for trfnews.i234.me