Wheeler man charged with false imprisonment and strangulation

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  —  A 25-year-old Wheeler man previously convicted of first degree child sexual assault has now been charged with felony false imprisonment, felony strangulation and misdemeanor battery.

Mykle McMahon was scheduled to appear in Dunn County Circuit Court September 12 for a preliminary hearing on the false imprisonment case and for a probation review hearing in the sexual assault case.

McMahon was convicted of first degree child sexual assault in February of 2015 after pleading no contest. He had initially pleaded not guilty due to mental disease or defect.

In a second case from 2014, McMahon also was charged with first degree child sexual assault, but as part of the plea agreement, the charge was dismissed and read into the record for sentencing on the first  case.

Judge Michael Bitney sentenced McMahon to 15 years in state prison, 15 years of extended supervision and 15 years of probation on April 1, 2015, but imposed and stayed the sentence and ordered McMahon, as a condition of probation, to serve one year in the county jail.

McMahon also was ordered by the court to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with minor females.

In addition, he was ordered to submit to testing for sexually transmitted diseases and to give those results to the victims.

McMahon also was ordered to register as a sex offender, to complete alcohol and other drug assessments and to follow the recommendations.

As the result of his conviction in 2015, McMahon is not allowed to vote for 15 years and cannot own a firearm.

In the most recent case of alleged false imprisonment, strangulation and battery, according to the complaint, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department received a call on August 15 from a staff member at Mayo Menomonie who reported a woman was in the emergency room being treated for injuries sustained in a domestic abuse incident at a residence on Railroad Avenue in the Village of Wheeler.

The 25-year-old woman told deputies that the previous night, she and McMahon were involved in a physical altercation in which McMahon allegedly suffocated her, pushed her around, took her keys and would not allow her to leave the residence, according to the complaint.

The woman said she wanted to go home to the City of Menomonie so she could be closer to a hospital since she was due to give birth at any time.

McMahon became angry because he did not want her to leave, the woman said, adding that McMahon said, “I am going to kill you” and took away her keys and cell phone.

The woman said McMahon dragged her into the bedroom and told her to go to sleep. She reported that she was in pain due to the assault, according to the complaint.

In her statement to a Dunn County deputy, the woman “stated the defendant grabbed her by her mouth and the back of her head and dragged her to his bedroom. He threw her on the bed and and continued to yell. She stated the defendant said that he was going to kill her and he did not care what happened to her because he was going to prison,” according to the complaint.

The woman went on to say that McMahon had put a pillow over her face so she could not breathe, that he calmed down for a little while but then became angry again and “jumped on [the woman]. He put his hand over her mouth so she could not scream and told her that, if she screamed, he was going to smack her. [The woman] stated the defendant calmed down again and she was able to move into the living room. The defendant got mad again and grabbed her shirt and held [it] over her mouth so she could not breathe or scream. When she was able to move his hand, she screamed. The defendant shoved his hand down her throat. The defendant then put his hand over her mouth and plugged her nose so she could not breathe. [The woman] stated she almost passed out as the defendant dragged her back into the bedroom,” according to the complaint.

The complaint goes on to say that the deputy attempted to make contact with McMahon at his residence but could not find him. When the deputy returned to work August 19, he was informed that McMahon had turned himself into the Dunn County jail on August 17.

According to the complaint, McMahon and the woman had dated at one time and had previously lived together.

Judge Rod Smeltzer set a cash bail of $2,000 for McMahon August 22, but reduced the bail to $1,000 cash August 26. McMahon posted bail on August 29, according to online court records.