Phillip Boswell

A Minot man has been sentenced to serve 2.5 years in state prison after pleading guilty to child abuse of a victim under the age of six.

Phillip Clifton Boswell, 44, appeared in North Central District Court on Wednesday for a change of plea hearing, where he entered a change of plea to guilty to the Class B felony.

According to court documents, Boswell and co-defendant Donna Jean Kajune, 29, Minot, were charged after an investigation into a report from Sept. 17, 2024, of possible child abuse of a child less than a year old who had facial bruising.

The affidavit of probable cause stated Kajune claimed to not know how the infant had been injured and believed it happened when the infant rolled into the wall. Law enforcement subsequently attempted to interview Boswell and Kajune in the course of the investigation but learned they had left the state.

Kajune and Boswell were taken into custody on Feb. 10 and interviewed at the Ward County Jail. Kajune stated she and Boswell had in the past flicked the infant in the face with a finger when the child would cry or was fussy. Kajune said Boswell was very impatient with the infant, and the bruising appeared after an incident when Boswell was feeding the child. Boswell refused to speak with investigators during the interview.

District Court Judge Gary Lee sentenced Boswell to serve 10 years with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, with all but 2.5 years suspended pending the completion of three years of supervised probation. He was given credit for 104 days already served, and assessed $125 in court fines and fees.

Boswell and Kajune pleaded guilty in 2021 in a prior case where they were charged with Class A felony child abuse and Class B felony child abuse respectively, and both charges were amended to Class C felony child neglect. Boswell and Kajune were granted a suspended sentence of 360 days in jail with 18 months of supervised probation. The infant in the 2021 case was placed in foster care, and both parents were ordered to have no contact with the child unless approved or supervised by social services.

Kajune faces the same charge, and a three day jury trial is scheduled to commence Feb. 3, 2026.