A Jacksonville man convicted last month of reckless conduct causing great bodily harm to a child in Cass County was sentenced to prison yesterday.
Joseph Wardell, 36, was sentenced in Cass County Circuit Court before Judge Timothy Wessel. Wardell is said to have offered a statement to the court prior to being taken into custody.
The sentence follows Wardell’s conviction on December 1, 2025, after a two-day bench trial in Cass County Circuit Court. Judge Wessel found Wardell guilty of a Class 4 felony count of reckless conduct causing great bodily harm. Wardell was acquitted of more serious charges, including aggravated battery to a child under the age of 13 causing permanent disability, aggravated domestic battery, and aggravated battery to a child.
According to a press release from Cass County State’s Attorney Craig Miller’s office following the verdict, the court determined Wardell acted recklessly when he kicked his minor daughter in the left thigh, causing a transverse fracture of her left femur. The incident was alleged to have occurred on August 6, 2024.
During the December trial, prosecutors presented testimony from the child’s physician, law enforcement officers, and other witnesses. Medical testimony indicated the injury was caused by a bending mechanism inconsistent with an accidental injury, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
After the verdict, Miller publicly expressed disappointment that Wardell was not convicted on the more serious aggravated battery charges, stating that the evidence supported a finding that Wardell acted knowingly and intentionally. Miller emphasized, however, that he respected the court’s role as the trier of fact in a bench trial and reaffirmed his office’s commitment to protecting children.
The Cass County case was not Wardell’s first encounter with the criminal justice system involving allegations of child abuse. In October 2020, Wardell was arrested in Morgan County following an investigation by the Illinois State Police after a referral from the Children’s Advocacy Center of Morgan County.
In that earlier case, Wardell was accused of causing a femur fracture to a child under the age of 13 and providing false information about how the injury occurred. Court records indicate the child was approximately two months old at the time. Wardell ultimately pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for providing false information to authorities and was sentenced in 2021 to 30 months of probation. More serious child abuse charges were dismissed as part of that plea agreement. His probation was terminated as satisfied in July 2024.
According to sources familiar with the Cass County case, the victim in the 2024 incident is the same child involved in the Morgan County case.
With Monday’s sentencing, Wardell was sentenced to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 6 months of mandatory supervised release, and fined $2,500. A final protective order was entered under Illinois law, prohibiting Wardell from having contact with the victim for two years following his release from mandatory supervised release.