Oak Park Child Care Worker Who Force-Fed Infant Charged With Battery
(STMW) -- A west suburban Oak Park child care worker was charged Saturday with aggravated battery of a child after she force-fed an eight-month old in her care.
Surveillance video appeared to show Karelia Michelle Montenegro, 35, force-feeding the infant at Oak Park Montessori at 937 Garfield Street, according to a statement from Oak Park police. The action caused a tear in the child's esophagus that required emergency surgery to repair.
Surgeons successfully operated on the child, who is expected to spend several more days in the hospital, the statement said.
A hospital official called 911 late Wednesday to report a possible child abuse incident, the statement said. School staff contacted the child's mother about 11 a.m. after they noticed the infant's swollen neck. After she took the child to a pediatrician and then to the emergency room at Oak Park West Suburban Medical Center, the baby was taken about 5p.m. in an ambulance to Lurie Children's Hospital for surgery.
Officials said while the injury was not necessarily indicative of abuse, it was considered suspicious because there was no other reasonable explanation for what had happened.
Police took Montenegro, of the 1300 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, into custody Thursday with the cooperation of the daycare owner, the statement said. Aggravated battery of a child is a Class X felony, punishable by six to 30 years in state prison with a fine of up to $25,000.
Bond was set Saturday at $50,000, and Montenegro will remain at home under electronic monitoring. Her next court date is Dec. 10 at the Fourth Municipal Courthouse in Maywood.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
