Former Barrington day care worker charged with child battery

A former employee at a church-run Barrington day care was held on $50,000 bail Thursday on charges she carried toddlers by their arms and ankles, pushed one boy's face into the ground and threw shoes at a girl.

Annmarie Dziedzic, 36, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated battery to a child.

According to Barrington police, "the charges stem from several incidents that occurred at the Lutheran Church of Atonement in Barrington where Dziedzic was employed as a child care worker."

Prosecutors say the instances occurred between June 2020 and February 2021. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services initiated an investigation on Feb. 4 after receiving an anonymous tip. Police and the church initiated investigations in conjunction with DCFS, police said. Dziedzic no longer works at the facility.

None of the children suffered serious injuries and "church officials were very cooperative and helpful throughout the investigation," according to police.

Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Kristina Modesto described multiple incidents, including one that took place last summer. After a 2-year-old girl took off her shoes, Dziedzic threw the shoes at the girl, hitting her in the face and leaving a mark, Modesto said. Dziedzic was overheard expressing dismay that "there's a mark," Modesto said. On a different occasion, the defendant was heard telling the same girl "nobody likes you," Modesto told the judge.

Dziedzic also is accused of lifting a different 2-year-old girl off the ground by her ankle, Modesto said. Another time, Dziedzic pushed a door, causing the same girl to fall and hit her head on a wall, Modesto said.

Modesto also described the defendant pushing a 1-year-old boy's face into the ground after he began roughhousing and, in a different instance, carrying a 2-year-old girl by her arm.

According to Modesto, Dziedzic became angry when a 1-year-old boy was playing with cupboards and was overheard asking, "do you want to see what it feels like?" after which she shut the door on his fingers, causing him to cry.

"One of these (incidents) is too many," said Senior Pastor Don Wink, who became aware of the charges Feb. 4, the same day DCFS received the anonymous tip. "There's nothing more important to us here than the well-being of our kids."

The day care is working with an outside expert and with Barrington police to provide employees additional training to prevent other incidents.

"We are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that," Wink said, adding "we've served so many families in this community over the years and served them well ... There's a lot of trust placed on us and we're absolutely committed to earning that."

Dziedzic next appears in court on April 8.