Burnsville Man Arrested After Allegedly Belting Child

A Burnsville man is once again facing child abuse charges after allegedly belting a child in a fit of rage.

Dejuan Edward Talley, 40, has been charged with malicious punishment of a child, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and $3,000 in fines.

On the night of Feb. 7, officers from the Burnsville Police Department were dispatched to an apartment on report of an eight year old who'd been beaten with a belt. Once on the scene, officers found the child in a bedroom with his mother. Red and purple marks were readily apparent on the child's backside. The welts seemed to be in the shape of a folded over belt. The belt used to strike the child was found shortly after, still in the shape of a loop.

Talley admitted he'd struck the child multiple times after he became angry with the child, who had wet himself shortly before the incident began. 

The incident on Feb. 7 is similar to a previous case against Talley dating to 2009. On May 20 of that year, Eagan Police called to a residence on report of a 6-year-old with a black eye. Talley told police that he'd belted the child and backhanded him in the face after the boy brought home bad marks for his behavior in school. In June of 2009, he pleaded guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to two years of probation, $606 in fees and fines, and anger management training. The judge stayed 30 days of jail time.

By early 2010, Talley seemed to have turned over a new leaf. Members of his family petitioned the court to lift a no contact order and allow him to come home again.

"This experience has taught me a valuable lesson in humility and self control. I now have the tools necessary to become the man that God and I myself want to be," Talley wrote to the judge.

Aside from the previous conviction for malicious punishment, Talley has no charges of note on his record.

Talley's next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25. Until that time, Judge Erica MacDonald has barred Talley from the residence and all contact with the children.