Palatine man sentenced to 10 years for child battery
A Palatine man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a 4-month-old who upset him by crying and refusing to eat.
Jonathan Willard, 31, of the 1900 block of Cambridge Drive, must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole. The class X felony is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Willard was caring for the child in June 2012 when the baby began crying and would not take a bottle, said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Gerber.
Willard forced a baby bottle into the infant’s mouth, bruising his tongue. Later, Gerber said, Willard pulled the infant from his swing with such force the baby suffered fractured ribs and bleeding under the skull on the surface of the brain.
The baby was taken to Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights and subsequently transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Gerber said, adding that the child has made a full recovery and has started walking.
Willard, who has no criminal background, received credit for the 422 days he has spent in custody since his arrest.