Father in duct tape photo case out on bond
The family of a Chicago man accused of binding his daughter with tape and posting a picture on Facebook was able to post bond Friday, allowing his release from jail.
A Cook County judge reduced bond for Andre Curry from $100,000 to $30,000, meaning only $3,000 was needed for Curry’s release.
Cook County sheriff’s spokesman Frank Bilecki says Curry’s mother, Brandi Phillips, posted bond moments before a deadline for his release late Friday. Bilecki said Curry would be released from Cook County Jail about two hours after bail was posted.
Judge Lawrence Flood imposed conditions on Curry’s release, prohibiting him from having contact with the girl, her mother or any child under the age of 18. Curry also cannot use the Internet.
“I’ll comply with everything you just said,” Curry, 21, told the judge. “No problem.”
During Friday’s hearing, prosecutors asked the judge to keep bond at $100,000.
Zachary Hamilton, Curry’s attorney, urged the judge to lower the bond. Hamilton told the judge that Curry loves his daughter and that an examination from a doctor determined the girl wasn’t hurt. Curry is confident once he undergoes a court-ordered assessment by the Department of Children and Family Services the judge will ultimately allow him to see his daughter, Hamilton said.
Curry’s mother said after the hearing that her son made a mistake.
“This child was never hurt, never in danger,” Phillips said.
The case became national news after Curry posted on his Facebook page the photo of his 22-month-old daughter near the caption: “This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back.”
Police and the state agency launched investigations, and Curry was arrested on a charge of aggravated domestic battery on Dec. 20, seven days after the photograph appeared on his Facebook page. He has been in jail since, unable to post the required 10 percent, or $10,000, he needs to be released.
Since then, a grand jury indicted him on a felony aggravated domestic battery count, and aggravated battery and unlawful restraint. Curry has pleaded not guilty.
From the day he appeared in court in December, his attorneys have maintained that Curry was just joking around when he took the photograph with his cellphone camera and posted it. They’ve said he was not punishing the child and did not hurt her.
DCFS has said that until the photo was posted, the agency had never investigated Curry.