Dad accused of binding girl with duct tape held on $100,000 bail

A Chicago man accused of binding his young daughter’s hands, legs and mouth with tape and then posting a picture of what he’d done on Facebook was ordered held on $100,000 bail Wednesday.

After a brief hearing in which 21-year-old Andre Curry’s attorney said the case had been “blown out of proportion” because it had been posted on the Internet, Judge Laura Sullivan made it clear she didn’t agree.

Sullivan accepted each one of the prosecutor’s suggestions, from not allowing Curry to have any contact with the 22-month old girl or any other minors to prohibiting him from using the Internet.

Curry, who was charged late Tuesday with a felony count of aggravated domestic battery, has to come up with $10,000 to be released from jail. He did not offer any explanation of his actions to the judge, but after the hearing Assistant Public Defender Anand Sundaram said Curry did not intend to hurt the child or punish her, but that he was just having fun.

“That’s my belief,” said Sundaram, whose own suggestion that Curry be placed on electronic surveillance was denied by the judge. Sundaram declined to comment further.

The child’s photograph was circulated around the country before Curry’s Facebook page was ultimately taken down.

During the hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti said Curry was playing with his daughter Dec. 13 when, after seeing the girl playing with blue duct tape, took the tape and used it to tape the child’s wrists, ankles and mouth, though the police report said he used painter’s tape.

She said he then used a cellphone camera to take a picture and post it on his Facebook page with a note, “This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back,” completing the sentence by adding, she said, a smiley face.”

Antonietti said Curry has admitted to police that he used the duct tape and took a picture of his daughter.

During the hearing, Sundaram said his client works as a waiter at Applebee’s, and said that if there was any history of abuse in the house, the state’s Department Children’s and Family Services would have reported it. A DCFS spokesman said Tuesday that the agency never has investigated Curry. Nor, prosecutors say, does he have any felony convictions as either a juvenile or an adult.

Curry is scheduled to return to court next Tuesday.