By Shereen Siewert
A Rothschild man who served five years behind bars for intentionally scalding a 16-month old boy will avoid a new prison term for a sexual assault conviction after a judge sentenced him to probation this week.
Christopher Kolden, 30, was arrested in January 2021 when a woman told police Kolden viciously attacked her during a holiday party. Kolden, a guest at the party, allegedly followed the woman into her bedroom, grabbed her by the throat, pinned her to the bed and sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors charged him with second-degree sexual assault with the use of force and fourth-degree sexual assault.
A repeater enhancer also applied, which could have allowed for additional penalties due to his prior convictions.
But on Tuesday, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser issued a withheld sentence for Kolden, which means he will stay out of prison if he is successful on probation for two years. As part of a plea agreement, the second-degree sexual assault charge was dismissed, while Kolden pleaded no contest to the fourth-degree charge. He was also convicted of bail jumping.
In the earlier case, Kolden, then 22, intentionally dipped a young boy’s face in 177-degree water, according to court records. In March 2017, Marathon County Circuit Judge LaMont Jacobson sentenced Kolden to five years in prison on charges of neglecting a child where the consequence is great bodily harm, but allowed Kolden credit for the nearly two years he spent behind bars awaiting trial.
Charges were filed in March 2015 after Kolden, the live-in boyfriend of the victim’s mother, told police the boy turned on a bathtub faucet and burned his face when Kolden left the bathroom briefly to fetch a diaper and clothing.
But a child abuse expert told police that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with Kolden’s explanation, according to the criminal complaint. Kolden was released from prison in March 2019 and remained on active supervision at the time of his arrest in 2021.
In the assault case, Kolden was released on bond, and was arrested again in September on charges of bail jumping and operating a vehicle without a valid license, his third within three years. He was released on bond again in October.
The driving charge was also dismissed Tuesday but read into the record at sentencing.
