Boyceville man sentenced to 10 years in prison, 10 years of extended supervision for child sexual assault
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by LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 57-year-old Boyceville man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision on charges related to the sexual assault of a child.
Franklin J. Bignell appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court from Stanley Correctional April 12 for a clarification on sentencing before Judge Luke M. Wagner.
Bignell is already serving five years in prison and five years of extended supervision on a conviction of possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver.
The case against Bignell for child sexual assault was scheduled for a jury trial December 27, 2022.
The jury was seated at 11:05 a.m., and the court recessed for lunch from 12:10 p.m. until 1:05 p.m.
When the court reconvened at 1 p.m., Judge Wagner received information that Bignell was ready to make a plea deal, according to online court records.
Bignell was charged with two Class B felonies and one Class C felony. He pleaded guilty to one Class B felony, and the other Class B and Class C felonies were dismissed and read into the record for sentencing.
Judge Wagner ordered Bignell to serve 10 years of initial confinement and 10 years of extended supervision for the child sexual assault.
April 12
During the court hearing April 12, Matthew Krische, Bignell’s attorney, told the court Bignell had reached an agreement with the prosecution that he would plead “no contest” to the Class C felony related to the sexual assault of a child and that the Class B felonies would be dismissed and read into the record for sentencing.
Judge Wagner accepted the joint agreement and vacated the conviction on the first count, a Class B felony, and accepted Bignell’s plea of no contest on the Class C felony and found him guilty.
Bignell is required to register as a sex offender and to have no contact with the victim.
Court costs of $518 have already been paid in full.
The sentences for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and for the child sexual assault are concurrent.
Bignell also has been sentenced to two years of probation to run concurrent with the sentencing on the methamphetamine charge for felony bail jumping.
The felony bail jumping is related to the case of Lynn Nieznanski, who was charged with the false reporting of an emergency for saying she was being held hostage by her 56-year-old ex-boyfriend, Bignell, following an incident at Bignell’s house in Boyceville in December of 2021.
Drug bust
According to a news release from the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, a Dunn County sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop in the Town of Dunn on April 2, 2020, which led to the arrest of an adult male and the seizure of methamphetamine.
Based on information received during the traffic stop, a search warrant was executed in the Village of Boyceville in conjunction with the West Central Drug Task Force and the Boyceville Police Department.
As a result of the search warrant, 110 grams of methamphetamine were recovered, along with “ecstasy” pills and packaging material.
Bignell was subsequently taken into custody and charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, maintaining a drug trafficking place, possession of amphetamine/LSD/psilocybin, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
In the sexual assault case, according to the criminal complaint, the victim spoke with an investigator at the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department in July of 2019 about a sexual assault case that had been investigated in 2004. The victim said she was eight years old when the sexual abuse started.