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Worker charged with battery of a child

Dec. 5, 2015 – A child care worker was charged today with one count of Aggravated Battery of a Child in connection with an injury sustained Wednesday by an eight-month old in her care at Oak Park Montessori, 937 Garfield St.

Karelia Michelle Montenegro, 35, of the 1300 block of south 50th Avenue in Cicero, was charged after surveillance video showed what appeared to be her force-feeding the infant. The action, the charge alleges, caused a tear in the child’s esophagus that required emergency surgery to repair.

Bond was set today at $50,000. She will remain at home under electronic monitoring. The next court date is Dec. 10, at the Fourth Municipal District Courthouse in Maywood.

Oak Park Police first learned of the incident after a hospital official contacted the local 911 emergency services dispatch center at about midnight Wednesday to report a possible child abuse incident.

Police immediately contacted the hospital for more information, learning that the child had been transported by ambulance to Lurie’s Children’s Hospital in Chicago at about 5 p.m. from West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park. Surgeons successfully operated on the child, who was expected to spend several more days in the hospital.

The owner of the daycare center cooperated with Police and provided the video that led to Montenegro being taken into custody for questioning on Thursday.

Police say the child was dropped off at Oak Park Montessori at about 7 a.m., Wednesday. School staff reported noticing that the infant’s neck was swollen at about 11 a.m. and contacted the mother.

In the hours that followed, the mother took the child to a pediatrician, who sent them to the emergency room at Oak Park’s West Suburban Medical Center. Doctors there sent the child by ambulance to Lurie Children’s Hospital for an examination that ultimately led to the surgery.

Officials said that while the injury was not necessarily indicative of abuse, it was considered suspicious because of the lack of a reasonable explanation for what occurred.

Aggravated battery of a child is a Class X felony. Basic punishment is six to 30 years in state prison with a fine of up to $25,000.

Photo of Karelia Montenegro
Karelia Montenegro