Philip Henle booking photo

By Shereen Siewert

A warrant has been issued for a 38-year-old Wausau man accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl while her mother was at work and her two brothers were in the family home.

Court records show Phillip B. Henle, who is not related to the alleged victim, failed to appear Tuesday for a scheduled appearance in Marathon County, prompting prosecutors to ask a judge to revoke bond and issue a bench warrant. Henle has an extensive criminal history.

Charges of sexual assault of a child younger than 13, child enticement and exposing genitals to a child were filed in October 2019 against Henle. Wisconsin Department of Corrections records show Henle was on extended supervision at the time the alleged assaults took place and has a long string of past convictions including sexual assault, attempted robbery, forgery, robbery with a threat of force, exposing genitals to a minor, obstructing an officer, misappropriation of identification information and bail jumping. The majority of his past offenses were charged in Brown, Winnebago and Outagamie Counties and stretch back for decades, court records show.

An investigation began in July 2019 after the alleged victim disclosed the abuse to her father and stepmother, who called police.

During a forensic interview, the alleged victim said Henle made her “pinky promise” not to tell anyone about the abuse, which she said happened at her mother’s town of Easton home while her mother worked an overnight shift. A check of employment records showed the girl’s mother did work overnight shifts on the dates that coincided with the alleged abuse, according to the criminal complaint.

DOC records show Henle was released from Redgranite Correctional Institution in September 2018. But Wisconsin Department of Corrections records show Henle absconded from community supervision and remains at large.

During an initial appearance in 2019, Judge Jill Falstad, who has since retired, ordered a $2,500 bond for Henle, who was freed in December 2020 after posting the cash.

When Henle failed to appear in court Tuesday, Circuit Judge Greg Huber authorized a warrant and ordered Henle’s bond to be forfeited to the court.