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Cary man accused of shaking baby girl

An unlicensed home day care worker from Cary is accused of shaking a 3-month-old McHenry girl in his care and causing injuries to her that required multiple surgeries, police said.

Alvin D. Santiago, 29, of the 300 block of Ann Street, turned himself in Thursday and was charged with one count of aggravated battery to a child, police said.

Santiago had been watching the baby at his home since August, even though Santiago and his home are not licensed for child care, Cary Police Sgt. Ed Synek said. Synek also said Santiago was looking after at least four other children, but that none of them was injured.

Police said the girl’s injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome and that she sustained severe head trauma. Synek added that she was in Santiago’s care when the abuse occurred.

Santiago’s arrest marks the culmination of a six-week probe conducted by the Cary Police Department and the Department of Children and Family Services.

On Sept. 17, first responders were dispatched to Santiago’s home for a call of a 3-month-old girl who was unconscious and not breathing, police said. She initially was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, police said.

But doctors there determined her injuries were severe enough to warrant her transfer to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she received additional intensive care, police said.

The baby had several surgeries and has since been released from the hospital, Synek said.

Police aren’t releasing any reasons for why this may have happened, only commenting on what has happened in similar cases.

“The most common triggers as we understand them for cases like this are frustration, and often it is surrounding an inconsolable child or one that cries,” Synek said.

Bail was set at $100,000 and Santiago posted 10 percent of that amount, which allows him to stay out of jail while his case proceeds through the courts.

His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Woodstock.

Aggravated battery to a child is a Class X felony that, upon conviction, carries a prison sentence ranging between six and 30 years. Probation is not allowed.

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