2 Workers Beat Child At Suburban Center For Developmentally Disabled: Sheriff
(CBS) -- The Cook County Sheriff's office says two employees of a center for the developmentally disabled in Palatine have been accused of aggravated battery to an 11-year-old boy, allegedly punching him and hitting him with a bucket.
The sheriff's office learned of the incident from DCFS, says Cara Smith, chief policy officer for Sheriff Tom Dart.
"Our office was contacted by the Department of Children and Family Services regarding an alleged battery that took place on an 11-year-old resident -- a special needs child -- at Little City in Palatine. Our office investigated and brought charges," she tells WBBM's Steve Miller.
Smith says it's alleged that one staff member restrained the boy while the other staff member punched him with fists and hit him with a bucket.
She says the incident happened Dec. 1.
Smith says it wasn't reported to the sheriff's office until Jan. 23 -- by DCFS, not by Little City, which provides services to the developmentally disabled.
Charged: Ronkeia Harper, 22, of Forest Park; and Lisa Archer, 39, of Palatine.
Smith says they are both free on bond.
Little City spokesman Larry Heisler issued the following statement:
"Please know that Little City does everything humanly possible to preserve and protect the welfare of children and adults in our care, and that the callous and alleged criminal behavior shown by these two individuals is not representative of the Little City workforce.
We are committed to voluntary reporting, full transparency, and complete cooperation with investigatory and regulatory officials.
Once we learned of the incident, we immediately followed protocol and notified the DCFS abuse hotline.
DCFS is responsible for notifying law enforcement for such incidents while they conduct a concurrent investigation.
After being relieved of their duties, Harper and Archer were terminated.
Little City is vigilant in weeding out those individuals whose values and behaviors do not align with what our children, adults and their families deserve.
We support and applaud the efforts of the authorities, including the Cook County Sheriff and State's Attorney, in helping us address matters like this so we can stay true to our mission of taking care of the most vulnerable members of our society."
