Remorseful dad gets minimum 6-year sentence for harming infant

Calling Jay Siedelberg the only defendant he's ever found truly remorseful, a McHenry County judge sentenced the former Huntley man Friday to the minimum six years in prison for slamming his 11-week-old son's head into a home entertainment center, causing severe brain damage.

Siedelberg, 28, by law must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, meaning that with time already served since his conviction, he will not be eligible for parole for almost five years.

Judge Joseph Condon's decision to hand down the minimum term concluded an emotional sentencing hearing in which Siedelberg's friends and family repeatedly testified that he was a doting father and the thought of him harming a child was unfathomable to them.

"I don't know what more punishment there is than for him to look at his son every day," Siedelberg's wife, Kristine Siedelberg said. "He's felt sorry and remorseful since the day this has happened."

Condon found Siedelberg guilty in December of aggravated battery to a child stemming from the October 2005 incident at his Huntley home. Authorities alleged Siedelberg was watching the boy, now 4, when he lost his temper and struck the boy's head against a piece of furniture.

At his three-day trial, Siedelberg admitted he hit his son's head on the furniture, but said it was an accident that occurred as he was swinging the boy in an effort to calm him.

On Friday, he referred to the incident again as a "horrible accident."

"It's something I have to live with for the rest of my life," he said.

McHenry County prosecutors asked for a 10-year sentence, saying a stiffer punishment was needed to act as a deterrent.

"(The boy) should be running around playing like any other 4-year-old child, but he can't do that because of what the defendant did," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Simeon Kim said.

Condon, however, opted for the minimum, saying he believes Siedelberg will act responsibly toward his children in the future.

"(The boy) will remind the defendant of his mistake for a long time," the judge said.

Earlier Friday, Condon denied the West Chicago man's request for a new trial, rejecting his claims that mistakes by his trial lawyers, including their decision not to call an expert witness in his defense, prevented him from receiving a fair trial.

Siedelberg's new attorney, Paul DeLuca, said his client plans to appeal his conviction.