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Mom's boyfriend accused of beating 6-year-old

Posted December 24, 2007 10:00 pm

Jayette Bolinski and Chris Dettro

A 6-year-old girl will spend Christmas hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, and her mother's boyfriend is in jail accused of severely beating her Sunday night.

Daniel A. Heninger, 37, of the 1300 block of South Pasfield Street was charged Monday with attempted murder and aggravated battery to a child, both Class X felonies punishable by 6 to 30 years in prison.

The girl was admitted to St. John's Hospital and suffers from multiple fractures, bruises and cuts. Her 26-year-old mother also was beaten during the altercation.

Two other children, ages 3 months and 13 months, were at the house but were not battered.

Springfield police were sent to the hospital about 9 p.m. Sunday to investigate. Heninger apparently punched and kicked the girl and threw her to the ground, according to the charges.

Heninger is being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bond. Associate Circuit Judge Robert Hall set a preliminary hearing for Jan. 3 and appointed the Sangamon County public defender's office to represent Heninger.

Heninger told the court his most recent job was as a bell-ringer for the Salvation Army.

Police released no further details about the incident, including what prompted the altercation. They said the investigation is ongoing.

Heninger was convicted of drug and weapons offenses in California in 1991 and was placed on probation, which he violated in 1994, said assistant state's attorney Gray Noll. He then served two years in California prison.

He also has been on probation for domestic battery from a September 2006 case. Sangamon County court records indicate Heninger had completed an anger-management program and was scheduled for a hearing to pay his fine on Feb. 18.

He also pleaded guilty in 2006 to a misdemeanor violation of owner's duties for failure to provide food, water and shelter for his Labrador retriever on July 8, 2006.

According to newspaper archives, Heninger was arrested in July 2005 for allegedly hitting the daughters of his live-in girlfriend with a belt, causing bruises.

Heninger lived in the 1700 block of East Kansas Street at the time. His girlfriend at the time told police she believed he unreasonably spanked her children, ages 4 and 6, with a belt while he was watching them for her. She found the girls' injuries when she changed them to go swimming.

In March 2005 he was arrested for hitting a woman with a baseball bat. The victim told police that she and Heninger, who lived in an apartment in the 1500 block of East Cornell Avenue then, got into a heated argument and he attacked her with a bat. The woman's face was swollen and bruised as a result.

No charges were filed in either incident.

There was no complaining witness in the March 2005 case when the victim refused to cooperate with authorities, according to reports. No further information was available Monday on the July 2005 arrest.

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at (217) 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski. Chris Dettro can be reached at (217) 788-1510 or chris.dettro@sj-r.com.

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