St. Charles police charge man with child battery
A judge set bail at $3 million this morning for a 27-year-old man accused of severely beating a 2-year-old girl who today is listed in critical condition at a DuPage County hospital.
James C. Cooper, whose address for the past six months has been the Super 8 Motel at 1520 E. Main St. in St. Charles, faces a charge of aggravated battery to a child, a Class X Felony carrying a possible sentence of six to 30 years in prison.
Cooper was taken into custody at 2 a.m. Friday after police located him at a house on the 400 block of Roberts Lane in Batavia.
Police said the mother of the victim told officers she and her daughter had been living with Cooper since April. She reported to police that Cooper struck her about the head with his fists Wednesday morning.
The incident, police said, caused the 2-year-old girl to begin crying. Cooper, according to police, yelled at the girl to “shut up” then held her by the arms and began shaking her while suspending her in the air.
“The suspect then slammed the child face down on the bed,” police said in a news release. “At that time the child was unresponsive, not breathing and bleeding from the mouth.”
The girl's mother began giving the child CPR and called 911 at 8:13 a.m., police said.
Paramedics stabilized the girl and transported her to Delnor Hospital in Geneva for immediate treatment. She later was airlifted to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, suffering from multiple broken bones, a hemorrhage to the brain and possible brain damage due to lack of oxygen.
The girl remains in critical but stable condition at Central DuPage Hospital, police said Saturday. She has been intubated to assist her breathing.
St. Charles police said they contacted the Kane County state's attorney's office, which authorized the charge against Cooper after hearing the facts of the case.
Cooper was held overnight in the St. Charles Police Department lockup before being transported to the Kane County Correctional Facility Saturday morning for his bond call.
He is scheduled to return to court Monday morning, according to county jail records.
Authorities say Cooper also was wanted on outstanding arrest warrants out of Cook and Kendall counties. The U.S. Marshall's Office and members of the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force assisted St. Charles police with their investigation.