Waukegan mom accused of locking daughter in basement files motion to see children
A Waukegan woman accused of locking her 10-year-old daughter in a basement because she was "possessed by a demon" has filed a formal court request to see her children.
Katherine Swopes, 49, claimed in the motion to modify her bond that being blocked from seeing her children creates a hardship for family preservation and is not in the best interest of her four minor children.
Swopes' motion also claims the court order deprives her of her First Amendment right of freedom to exercise religion and provide faith and spiritual upbringing to her children.
Judge Victoria Rossetti said she would review the motion in court Dec. 5, after a November juvenile court hearing regarding the children involved in the case.
Katherine Swopes and husband, Randy Swopes, 48, were charged with child endangerment and unlawful restraint July 17 after police officers discovered the Swopes' daughter living in the basement of a single-family house on the 200 block of Liberty Street, authorities said.
The Swopeses locked the girl in the basement because they said she was "possessed by a demon," authorities said. The child had little interaction with humans and limited access to the outside and was forced to shower using a bucket.
Randy Swopes remains held in Lake County jail on $750,000 bail, but Katherine Swopes was released from jail on a $25,000 signature bond. They are acting as their own attorneys in their cases.
The couple have three other children, who are 7, 13, and 15.
After the Swopeses were arrested, all four children were taken into protective custody of the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services.
As part of her bond when she was released from jail, Katherine Swopes was ordered to be on a 24-hour curfew, prohibited from having drugs or alcohol, and told to not have any contact with her husband or the children.
Randy Swopes is scheduled for a fitness hearing/trial Nov. 13.
Lake County Judge Mark Levitt questioned whether Randy Swopes was mentally fit to stand trial after the Waukegan man accused specific Lake County judges and lawyers of being part of rituals that involve drinking blood and sexually assaulting children.