McHenry woman sent to prison for bringing child's urine for drug test

A McHenry woman who hoped to keep out of trouble by bringing someone else's urine to a court-ordered drug test instead is heading to prison.

Heather A. Derer, 36, of the 3100 block of Riverstream Drive, admitted guilt Thursday to a charge of defrauding a drug and alcohol screening test as part of a plea bargain in which she was sentenced to 18 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

The felony charge alleged that on Sept. 9 Derer smuggled a condom containing the urine of a friend's young son into the McHenry County's probation department, located within the county courthouse, and tried to pass it off as her own when ordered to give a sample.

Probation authorities became suspicious and questioned Derer, who eventually admitted the urine was not hers.

Derer was required to take the drug test as a condition of her probation for a 2008 felony theft conviction.

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Jeff Bora said the state considers it a serious offense when someone tries to circumvent the requirements of probation.

"The hope is that a person will be rehabilitated by following the rules of probation," Bora said. "This just shows the desire to continue violating the law."

Along with the prison sentence, Derer's probation on the felony theft case was revoked and she was sentenced to 60 days in the county jail, which was time served since her Sept. 9 arrest.

The theft charge stemmed from allegations Derer stole more than $26,000 from an elderly Island Lake woman she was hired to look after. Police said Derer wrote herself checks on the victim's bank accounts and redirected bill payments to herself. A $26,159 judgment was taken against her on the case Thursday, meaning the estate of the now-deceased victim can try to collect that amount from Derer.