McHenry Co. home alone mom gets second chance at probation

A former Lake in the Hills woman twice accused of leaving her two young daughters home alone at night while she visited local taverns was sentenced to two years probation Friday after admitting guilt to a felony child endangerment charge.

Randi L. Losch, 29, also received an 86-day term in the McHenry County jail as part of a plea deal, but already served that time in the months following her February arrest.

The plea agreement also requires Losch, who now lives in DuPage County, to perform 80 hours community service, pay a $500 fine, make a $100 contribution to McHenry County Crime Stoppers and undergo six random drug tests.

Her attorney, Senior Assistant Public Defender Christopher Harmon, said the deal was "reasonable and just" given Losch's actions since her latest arrest. Those include undergoing inpatient substance abuse treatment and getting sober.

"Her actions speak louder than words in the way she's conducted her life since being released from custody," Harmon said.

Nichole Owens, chief of the criminal division for the McHenry County State's Attorney, said the prosecutor's office agreed to the deal after Losch completed substance abuse treatment, and based on conversations with her Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker.

"Our primary concern has been for the well-being of her children," Owens said.

Losch also pleaded guilty to a related driving under the influence charge and was sentenced to two years court supervision and $1,555 in fines and court fees.

The charges stemmed from her arrest on suspicion of drunken driving in the early morning hours of Feb. 5. While being placed in custody, authorities said, Losch told a Lake in the Hills police officer she needed to call home because her daughters - a 6-year-old and 23-month-old - were there alone.

An officer sent to the home found the girls safe, but without adult supervision. The girls, police said, were left alone for at least three hours while their mother was out at a bar.

The arrest came just about two weeks after Losch was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to a pair of misdemeanor child endangerment charges that alleged she left her daughters unsupervised June 19, 2008 while she went looking for her boyfriend at a Crystal Lake bar. The boyfriend came home about 30 minutes later to find the girls alone.