Huntley mom charged with child endangerment

It took Huntley police officers 15 minutes to find the mother of two small children found scampering about a park on Douglas Road around 10 a.m. on April 16.

When the mother showed up, she told police she had been sleeping and the children, a 2-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, had somehow escaped from their first-floor apartment about 500 feet from the park - perhaps through an unlocked door.

Nathalia C. Cook, 20, of the 11500 block of Douglas Road, was charged with two counts of endangering the life or health of a child - one count for each child, police said.

But first, police accompanied her to her apartment, which they found cluttered with garbage bags, toys, unused diapers, rotting food, sharp knives and exposed cut glass, according to Huntley Police Chief John Perkins. Besides the mother, no one else was home at the time, police said.

The children were taken to the hospital because officers thought they might have ingested an unsafe liquid found in the home, Perkins said. The children were treated for severe diaper rash but were otherwise OK.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services took custody of the children at the hospital and later returned them to their family.

"DCFS is investigating allegations of neglect," department spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said, adding that the agency had no prior contact with the family.

Cook was released from police custody after posting $100 bond. Her next court date is May 28 in McHenry County Circuit Court. The charges, both misdemeanors, carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, or up to two years' probation.

Cook could not be reached for comment.