Acosta pleads not guilty to child endangerment, reckless conduct in case tied to AJ Freund

A former Department of Children and Family services employee pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a 2018 investigation involving Crystal Lake boy AJ Freund, who died at the hands of his parents four months later.

Carlos Acosta, 54, of Woodstock, appeared in McHenry County court with his attorney, Rebecca Lee. After a judge read aloud details from the Sept. 10 grand jury indictment, Acosta pleaded not guilty to felony charges of reckless conduct and endangering the life or health of a child.

Before Acosta could enter his plea, Judge Robert Wilbrandt noted he previously was associated with a local group that later named Acosta its president. Before Wilbrandt became a judge in 2006, the law firm where he and his brother worked represented the McHenry County Latino Coalition. Acosta went on to become the president of the coalition and left the organization in 2009.

During his time in private practice, Wilbrandt never personally represented Acosta, he said. Both Wilbrandt and 22nd Judicial Circuit Chief Judge James Cowlin agreed no conflict of interest would arise if Wilbrandt continued to preside over the case, Wilbrandt said.

Acosta's attorney and McHenry County Assistant State's Attorney Randi Freese agreed in open court that Wilbrandt did not need to recuse himself from the case, which was continued to Nov. 5 for a status hearing.

McHenry County sheriff's deputies arrested Acosta and his former DCFS supervisor Andrew Polovin, 48, of Island Lake, on Sept 10. Each is charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one felony count of reckless conduct. Both Polovin and Acosta posted bond and were released from the McHenry County Jail that same day.

Polovin pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment hearing this month.

Official charging documents filed with the McHenry County circuit clerk's office alleged Polovin and Acosta "knowingly caused or permitted (AJ) ... to be placed in circumstances that endangered AJ's life or health ..." They're also accused of recklessly performing an act that "caused great bodily harm or permanent disability" to a child, according to the grand jury indictment.

AJ was the subject of many police and child welfare checks during his short life. He was beaten to death in April 2019, and his remains were later found buried in a shallow grave.

The men were involved in the 2018 investigation of a large bruise on AJ's hip, which came into question again after AJ's death.

The boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, 37, was sentenced in July to 35 years in prison for first-degree murder in connection with the boy's death. The boy's father, Andrew Freund Sr., pleaded guilty Sept. 18 to aggravated battery of a child, involuntary manslaughter, and concealment of a homicidal death. The 61-year-old Crystal Lake man was sentenced to 30 years in prison but could serve as few as 18 years under the state's sentencing laws.

Both Polovin and Acosta were placed on desk duty in April 2019, after AJ was reported missing on April 18. The former employees were fired from DCFS in December.