McHenry mom accused of beating kids with cord

A McHenry mother is behind bars in the county jail today, facing charges she beat her four young children Sunday with a household electrical cord.

Martha Herrera, 28, of the 3800 block of Mill Street, faces four counts of aggravated battery to a child and four counts of domestic battery in connection with the incident police said occurred when she lost her cool over the children acting up.

"The kids were misbehaving and the mother struck them with a cord, leaving them with obvious bruising," McHenry police Detective Sgt. Dan Kreassig said. "This lady went far beyond any (accepted) measure."

The beatings were reported by a teacher Monday to the Department of Children and Family Services, which later contacted police.

Herrera was arrested Wednesday and transported to the McHenry County jail, where she remained Thursday> Her bail is set at $30,000.

Her children - ages 2, 6, 8 and 9 - are in DCFS custody, Kreassig said. Police are investigating whether there were prior incidents of abuse, he added.

Herrera, who faces a maximum of five years in prison if found guilty of the felony aggravated battery to a child accusations, is scheduled to appear in court June 30. The domestic battery charges are misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.