WABASHA — A Menominee Falls, Wis., man is accused of physically abusing his son because the boy came in second in a motocross race.
Daryl R. Willing, 49, was charged July 6 in Wabasha District Court with gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child and misdemeanor domestic assault.
The complaint alleges he took his 13-year-old son to Midway Motocross on May 9. "The child reported that his father got angry with him when he came in second in a race. His father yelled at him about needing to go faster."
The complaint alleges Willing grabbed his son's face and gripped hard enough to leave marks under his eye. Then he allegedly hit the boy on the back with a stick, leaving a bruise. Willing took the boy to the child's mother's house in Estherville, Iowa, and she took him to a doctor, who noted the injuries, authorities say.
When Willing was contacted by Wabasha County law enforcement, he reportedly said he's had his ups and downs with the boy, has spent "a lot of money on the little guy" and tried to help him. "Then, he does this. Well, guess what; I'm not going to be a happy camper."
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Willing's first appearance in court is set for Aug. 18.
