Abuse investigator pleads not guilty in slain boy case

A former Illinois child welfare who investigated allegations of abuse involving a 5-year-old boy who was later beaten to death has pleaded not guilty to child endangerment and reckless conduct

Boy Slain Illinois (Chicago Tribune)

A former Illinois child welfare worker who investigated allegations of abuse involving a 5-year-old boy who was later beaten to death pleaded not guilty Thursday to child endangerment and reckless conduct charges.

Carlos Acosta 54, of Woodstock entered the plea in a McHenry County courtroom Thursday morning, the Northwest Herald reported.

Acosta worked at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in the months before Andrew “AJ” Freund’s body was found in a shallow grave near his family’s Crystal Lake home in April 2019, days after his parents reported him missing.

The boy’s mother, JoAnn Cunningham, has since pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. His father, Andrew Freund Sr. 61, pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated battery of a child, involuntary manslaughter, and concealment of a homicide and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

McHenry County sheriff’s deputies arrested Acosta and his former supervisor, Andrew Polovin, on Sept 10. Each man is charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one felony count of reckless conduct. Both Polovin and Acosta were released on bond. Polovin pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17.

Judge Robert Wilbrandt noted he previously was associated with a local group that later named Acosta its president. Before Wilbrandt became a judge in 2006, the law firm where he worked represented the McHenry County Latino Coalition. Acosta went on to become the president of the coalition and left the organization in 2009. Wilbrandt never personally represented Acosta, he said.

Acosta’s attorney and McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Randi Freese agreed in open court that Wilbrandt did not need to recuse himself.