Name: Redwood Area Alano Club
Start: 2023-06-04T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2023-06-04T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Alano Club

A Redwood Falls woman who was recently accused of sexually abusing a young family member is facing new allegations. Shayla Fawn Minkel, 21, was charged Tuesday with three felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in Redwood County Court. A criminal complaint says a teenage boy came forward to report he’d been abused by Minkel roughly eight years prior, when he was age 4 or 5 and Minkel was about 14 or 15 years old.

The boy told police he and his sister were staying overnight at Minkel’s home the night of the alleged abuse. The victim told police Minkel was consistently mean to him after the incident. Minkel never sexually assaulted the boy again, according to the complaint, but he told investigators he had thwarted several potential attempts.

Minkel allegedly tried climbing into the child’s loft bed during a family camping trip, but he pushed her away. He told investigators a second possible attempt occurred in 2011, when Minkel was babysitting the boy and his sister. Minkel allegedly tried to coerce the boy to come to her apartment, alone, while leaving his sister unsupervised, but he refused to go with her. During another babysitting episode, Minkel allegedly tried to grab the boy and pull him into his parent’s bedroom, but he was able to resist, says the complaint.

The victim said he didn’t want to be alone with Minkel because he was afraid of more abuse. Minkel had told him not to tell anyone about the incident, and he kept quiet because he feared she would retaliate. Minkel has been summoned to appear in Redwood County Court.