A 21-year-old Waukegan woman and her live-in male companion were each ordered held on $1 million bond Wednesday after being charged with abusing the woman’s 4-year-old daughter, allegedly because she would not stop wetting her bed.
Ellen Knop and Jack Kirkland, 24, each face three counts of aggravated battery to a child and a count of unlawful restraint, said Lake County assistant State’s Atty. Steve Scheller. Aggravated battery to a child is a Class X felony carrying a potential sentence of 6 to 30 years in prison.
When the girl was discovered by Waukegan police late Monday, she had dried blood on her face and was covered with bruises after repeated beatings with a belt and a wooden cutting board, authorities said.
“We do these all the time, but this one brings tears to my eyes,” said Waukegan Police Detective Mike Donnenwirth.
“There’s not one inch that’s not covered with a bruise. I have never seen a child-abuse case this bad,” Scheller added. “I can’t imagine what thoughts are going through her head–a 4-year-old–when mom and mom’s boyfriend are doing this to her.”
Knop and Kirkland, who were charged Tuesday, appeared Wednesday before Lake County Judge Barbara Gilleran-Johnson, who set bond. Both were being held Wednesday in the Lake County Jail in Waukegan.
“The judge said, `I don’t think animals do that to their own,’ ” Scheller said. “The defendants just stood there stone-faced.”
Police said the girl was taken to Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan, where she was listed in stable condition Wednesday. Hospital officials would not comment because the girl is a minor.
The case began around 7 p.m. Monday, when Donnenwirth took a call from Knop’s mother.
The woman, who lives in Verona, Ill., “wanted us to check on the granddaughter, because she hadn’t been able to get ahold of her, and she was somewhat concerned,” said Waukegan Police Sgt. Rich Davis.
Donnenwirth went to the family’s home in the 2400 block of Corona Road, where Knop answered the door.
Donnenwirth said he took some routine information from Knop and Kirkland, and then asked to see the girl. It took about 5 minutes for the couple to bring the girl out into the living room, Donnenwirth said.
“When I saw her, I knew there was something terribly wrong,” he said.
“After I looked at her a little bit more and saw her chest and her legs, I told her mom, `You better give me a pair of shoes, because we’re leaving.’ “
The girl told authorities she had been handcuffed to a dresser at times and taped to a plastic chair with duct tape and placed in a bathtub. She said she was forced to sleep in that position and told she couldn’t return to her bed until the bed-wetting ceased.
“Several times, she spent the night in the shower, taped to a chair,” Davis said.
Donnenwirth added that the girl said both adults had spanked her with a cutting board.
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Scheller said the girl suffered a ruptured right eardrum after allegedly being struck by Kirkland.
He added the girl had “glue residue” on her neck and legs from where she had been tied with duct tape.
Police believe the alleged abuse began in mid-August, when the girl and her mother moved from DeKalb to live with Kirkland. According to investigators, Kirkland is not the girl’s father.
Police said they had no known previous contact with the family.
Authorities said there was no evidence of sexual abuse.
The girl has been placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Family Services and she may eventually be placed with her grandmother, Scheller said.
Scheller said Kirkland has previous arrests for assault and battery. Knop has no record. DCFS spokesman Chris Welch said the agency had no prior contact with the couple. DCFS investigators were looking into the case.