Round Lake Park man accused of hurting toddler

A Round Lake Park man was in the Lake County jail Friday on charges he harmed his 16-month-old daughter and attacked the girl's mother, authorities said.

Brandon R. Wilke, 19, of the 500 block of Grandview Drive, was charged with aggravated battery of a child and domestic battery. Wilke's bond was set at $200,000 during a hearing Friday in Lake County circuit court, said Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko.

Wilke had yet to post the necessary 10 percent of the $200,000 to be freed from the county jail before trial.

Extensive bruising to the 16-month-old girl's face and head were found to be consistent with a slap or squeezing after doctors examined her Thursday at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Filenko said. He said the injuries were deemed to be inconsistent with a fall.

Filenko said Wilke's live-in girlfriend is the toddler's mother. He said Wilke hit the woman Wednesday night after she returned home from work and confronted him about red marks on her daughter's face.

“By the time (the mother) gets up the next day, the red turns to obvious bruising,” Filenko said.

On Thursday, said Filenko, the suspect's girlfriend took the child to her mother's home in Round Lake Beach. Filenko said the toddler was brought to Condell after the women summoned the Round Lake Beach police and fire departments.

Filenko said his department began investigating after being contacted by Round Lake Beach authorities. Investigators early Friday brought the case to the Lake County County state's attorney's office, which approved the charges against Wilke.

The child was not admitted to the hospital, police said.