WOODSTOCK, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — When a 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy was reported missing and later turned up murdered last year, two state child welfare workers were put under the microscope for their roles in investigating abuse of the boy. Now, they’re criminally charged.
Former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker Carlos Acosta and his former supervisor Andrew Polovin investigated the wellbeing of AJ Freund, the 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy, who was killed last year.
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Acosta, 54, of Woodstock, and Polovin, 48, of Island Lake, were charged with two felony counts of endangering the life of a child and one count of reckless conduct, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s office.
Acosta is a McHenry County board member. Both were arrested Thursday and taken to the McHenry County Correctional Facility. They were later released after posting $20,000 bond.
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According to CBS 2, Acosta and Polovin were both fired last fall for their handling of AJ’s case, along with DCFS caseworker Kathleen Gold. The 5-year-old was killed in April 2019, and his parents were later charged with his murder.
Acosta and Polovin had been involved in the investigation of a large hip bruise suffered by AJ Freund the year before he was murdered. There are questions about the closing of that case with a conclusion that allegations of abuse were "unfounded."
AJ’s parents, JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., were indicted in May 2019 on a combined 61 charges of murder, aggravated battery, and concealing a homicide in connection to his death in April. They are accused of beating him to death, burying him in a field, and reporting him missing in an effort to cover up the murder. They both initially pleaded not guilty, but Cunningham changed her plea to guilty last December.
She has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Freund Sr. is awaiting trial.
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