SLP Man Charged with Assault, Child Endangerment

A St. Louis Park man has been charged with assault and endangering a child after police say he shoved a month-old baby toward a woman and then kicked and punched the woman while she was holding the child.

Matthew William Bofenkamp, 40, is charged with felony third-degree assault, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He also faces a gross misdemeanor charge of endangerment of a child—which has a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine—and a misdemeanor charge of domestic assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Bofenkamp was released from the Hennepin County Jail Monday after posting $1,000 cash bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, compiled by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Patrick Myslajek, police were called to a report of a domestic assault just after 11 p.m. Jan. 16 in the 200 block of Cedar Lake Road North.

A woman at the address told police that Bofenkamp had assaulted her and their son, born Dec. 18. She said she was upstairs when she heard a bang from downstairs; she found Bofenkamp holding the baby, appearing “frustrated and angry,” upset and “screaming uncontrollably,” according to Myslajek’s account.

Bofenkamp yelled that he “couldn’t handle the baby anymore” and thrust the child toward the woman, forcing her to throw out her arms to catch him, according to the complaint. The argument escalated, and the woman said she was standing in a doorway when Bofenkamp shoved her, causing the baby’s head to hit the doorframe three times.

The woman told police that Bofenkamp kicked and punched her in the back and punched her in the head repeatedly while she was holding the baby. Police said the child had “visible red marks” on his head and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

The woman said Bofenkamp had assaulted her on other occasions, including one time when she was holding the baby.