Man gets 28 years for child beating

By Edith Brady-Lunny

Pantagraph correspondent

CLINTON -- Michael Van Hyning dreamed of being a father but his violent temper almost killed his son, according to the judge who sentenced Van Hyning on Friday to 28 years in prison.

DeWitt County Circuit Judge Stephen Peters sentenced Van Hyning, 25, in connection with the June 2001 battering of Cameron Van Hyning, the then-15-month-old adopted son of Van Hyning and his former wife, Jodene.

In a plea agreement reached last May, Van Hyning pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated domestic battery. Three additional counts of battery of a child were dismissed.

In handing down the sentence, Peters spoke in detail of each of the three incidents in which the toddler was injured on June 4, June 11 and June 23 at their home in Clinton.

Van Hyning and his wife adopted the child from a Russian adoption agency, said Peters, and returned to Central Illinois with the boy in May 2001.

On June 4, 2001, Van Hyning apparently was angered when the child repeatedly removed a hat from his father's head.

"He snapped," Peters said of Van Hyning, "and struck Cameron in the face three or four times with his closed fist."

A week later, the child defecated while taking a bath, an incident that allegedly led to Van Hyning "slamming Cameron into the feces three to fives times," said the judge. The father also shook the child and slammed him against the tub, according to reports.

On June 23, 2001, the child was taken to the local hospital emergency room with severe respiratory problems, which were the result of injuries he suffered at home, said Peters. Van Hyning was upset when the child soiled a bed during a diaper change.

Van Hyning hit the toddler in the stomach and chest with his fist. When the child vomited a short time later, Van Hyning "shook him for a substantial period of time," according to the judge.

Peters noted that Van Hyning offered two versions of the June 23 incident to police, including claims that the child fell out of bed twice before having a seizure.

The judge also noted medical records indicating that Cameron suffered a broken arm, four broken ribs and a fractured pelvis during the month he lived with the Van Hynings.

"He (Van Hyning) was the caretaker," said Peters, "the one who stayed home to take care of this child. He should have acted appropriately for the situation he found himself in."

The judge ruled that Van Hyning was eligible for extended sentencing provisions because of the violent nature of the crime and the age of the victim.

The judge sentenced Van Hyning to seven years for the first incident, nine years for the second and 12 years for the third. Van Hyning will serve those sentences consecutively.

The violence, he said, "escalated to almost the point of death" for the child.

The prosecution asked for 14 years per count.

Good behavior and other factors could cut Van Hyning's sentence by more than half.

Two years mandatory supervision also was added to Van Hyning's sentence.

Van Hyning told the judge that subsequent counseling has convinced him that he has an anger management problem.

"I'm sorry for all the devastation and pain he's had to go through. I thought I was ready and mature enough to be father. I'll do anything I have to do make things right for Cameron," Van Hyning said in testimony Friday.

He offered to contribute financially to the child's care.