Boy got in oven to escape dad's beating, Minneapolis police say

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 12:13 AM

A Minneapolis man beat his son with fists and an extension cord, and burned him with a hot iron before the boy sought refuge in the family's oven, according to criminal charges filed Monday.

The charges allege that William T. Hurley turned on the oven with his 10-year-old inside. The boy climbed out after it began to get warm, the complaint said.

Hurley is charged with malicious punishment of a child in connection with the Friday incident.

According to the charges in Hennepin County District Court, police arrived at an apartment on the 2000 block of Elliott Avenue on a child abuse call. The boy told officers that Hurley was upset with him for being in his mother's bedroom. Hurley punched him and threatened to kill him for hiding under a bed, the charges allege.

Hurley then burned the boy's arm and leg with a hot iron, the complaint said. The boy ran out of the apartment screaming for help, but his mother grabbed him and brought him back in, at which point Hurley whipped him with an extension cord, the charges say.

The boy then hid in the oven.

Officers observed marks and burns on the boy's body and "as officers were speaking to [the boy], the defendant stated that he had 'whooped' [the boy] and that he would get another," the complaint said. "The defendant threatened to beat [the boy] in front of the officers. At that time, the defendant had to be restrained by the officers."

The boy was taken to a hospital.

CHAO XIONG