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* Tribune…
[T]estimony came in the trial of former Department of Children and Family Services investigator Carlos Acosta and his supervisor, Andrew Polovin. Each is charged with child endangerment and reckless conduct in connection with AJ’s death, which came after he was repeatedly abused by his mother in Crystal Lake in 2019.
Almost four months before his death, on Dec. 18, 2018, police took AJ and his 3-year-old brother into protective custody, after finding what one officer called a “horrific” bruise on AJ’s hip and marks on his face, and their home in disarray, strewed with urine and feces, and with broken windows, ceiling and flooring.
When he was asked by a doctor about the bruise, AJ said, “Maybe someone hit me with a belt,” and “Maybe Mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.”
The physician was alarmed and didn’t want to release the boy to his mother, JoAnn Cunningham. But the emergency doctor wasn’t specially trained in diagnosing abuse, and Acosta released AJ from protective custody that day. “He was abandoned into the hands of his killer,” prosecutors said earlier in opening arguments.
* Patch…
[The state’s expert witness – retired DCFS area administrator Carol Ruzicka] said during her testimony on Tuesday that Acosta failed to perform inquiries regarding parts of his report after he was called to investigate a large bruise found on AJ Freund in December 2018. […]
Ruzicka testified that Acosta failed to ask numerous questions and investigate further.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally presented a text message exchange between Acosta and Polovin.
The exchange showed Acosta sent a photo of the bruise to his supervisor and said, “Kid said big dog put his paw on me. I take that to mean a scratch.”
Polovin responded and said, “That looks nasty, but if that’s what the kid says.” The pair did not seek extended protective custody and instead let AJ go home from the hospital with his father.
* Daily Herald…
Pamela Wells, an assistant state’s attorney from Winnebago County who works in the juvenile division, detailed the steps that should have been pursued when AJ was taken into protective custody that day.
Wells said anyone could have called the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office on Dec. 18, 2018, to report AJ’s bruises and the condition of his “filthy” home at 94 Dole Ave., and an investigation would have begun immediately. […]
“In your opinion had protective custody not lapsed on Dec. 18. 2018, would it have been possible (for) AJ to be murdered by his mother?” prosecutor Randi Freese asked Wells.
“No,” Wells answered. “The court involvement and the people involved with providing services would have been a disruption into their privacy and into what was going on behind closed doors.”
* Shaw Local…
On Thursday, those present in the McHenry County courtroom had heard disturbing recordings of AJ Freund’s mother made on her cell phone berating the boy in the months before she killed him.
The audio of JoAnn Cunningham abusing AJ – who died on April 15, 2019, after she beat him and made him stand in a cold shower – was heard during the trial of two former Department of Children and Family Services employees. […]
Audio from three more videos with similar content were played in which she is heard berating him for wetting himself and accusing him of being a manipulator. In one video, AJ told her he wanted to live alone, without his family, and that he was going to get her in trouble, only angering her more. […]
Julia Almeda, a former McHenry County assistant state’s attorney who worked in the juvenile courts and on AJ’s case in 2013, testified that she too never got a call about the December 2018 incident.
Had she, Almeda said, she “absolutely” would have immediately assigned an investigator, filed a petition to take AJ into protective custody, searched court systems, obtained police reports, cross referenced civil and criminal cases, assigned a forensic interviewer “and anything else that helps fill in that picture.”
* WGN…
During trial this week, case worker Carlos Acosta was criticized by [Ruzicka] for not thoroughly reviewing past DCFS contacts, police reports, or medical records for Cunningham.
Defense attorneys say Acosta juggled 20-plus cases at a time, over the 12-15 mandated in a DCFS consent decree.
The defense argued the goal and/or motivation of DCFS was to keep children with their parents, adding that Acosta and Polovin, his supervisor, shouldn’t be held criminally liable for Freund’s murder.
Two child abuse experts with the Children’s Advocacy Center in McHenry County also testified on Wednesday but were not allowed to be filmed. Experts said that the bruise seen on Freund’s hip was unlikely to have been caused by a dog, also noting four bruises on his torso.
* CBS Chicago…
Former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employees Carlos Acosta and Andrew Polovin both chose not to testify in their own defense, leading to defense attorneys resting their case on Friday without calling any witnesses.
The judge handling the bench trial said he would like to have closing arguments sometime during the first two weeks of October. Since it is a bench trial, it will be a judge instead of a jury determining the verdict. […]
But defense attorneys maintain that the former DCFS workers followed procedures, and both had limited information at the time protective custody of the child lapsed, resulting in him returning to his mother’s custody.
Both sides are due back in court on Tuesday to discuss scheduling of closing arguments. It’s unclear how soon the judge could rule after hearing closing arguments.
posted by Isabel Miller
Friday, Sep 15, 23 @ 2:06 pm
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= Defense attorneys say Acosta juggled 20-plus cases at a time, over the 12-15 mandated in a DCFS consent decree=
Until the recent hiring binge, 20+ is around average, and has been for a long time. In some rural offices, there might be 2-3 caseworkers handling ~90 cases at a time.
Caseworkers are still overworked, under-trained, underpaid and are treated as scapegoats by the public.
For the record, I’m not taking a stance on these two in particular, but providing an inside view of how broken the system is.
Comment by Hey Anony anony Friday, Sep 15, 23 @ 2:14 pm
This heartbreaking story, that poor child.
So very tragic. It’s a lot.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Sep 15, 23 @ 2:36 pm
Hey Anony anony,
Agreed. Stories such as this are due to systemic failures. The two DCFS workers on trial are part of the failed system, but aren’t solely to blame. You couldn’t pay me enough to work as a DCFS caseworker. Life and death decisions made by overworked employees in a overburdened system. It’s a small miracle this type of thing doesn’t happen more often.
Comment by Cubs in '16 Friday, Sep 15, 23 @ 4:04 pm