$1M Bail Set for Downers Grove Father Accused of Shaking Baby

Bail was set at $1 million Wednesday for a Downers Grove man accused of repeatedly shaking his 3-month-old daughter.

Timothy Churchill, 20 of the 4200 block of Lindley in Downers Grove, is charged with aggravated battery to a child, a non-probationable Class X felony, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Churchill and his child’s mother, who is a Naperville resident, took their daughter around 2 a.m. Jan. 23 to the Edward Hospital emergency room in Naperville. The baby was unresponsive and was found to have “substantial head injuries,” the state’s attorney’s office reported. The baby was sent to Lurie Children’s Hospital for emergency brain surgery.

A Naperville police investigation led authorities to believe Churchill violently shook his daughter on at least five occasions, causing her head injuries, the state’s attorney’s office reported. Her injuries included bilateral subdural hematomas and retinal hemorrhaging.

Churchill’s next court appearance is set for Feb. 29. If he posts bond, he is not allowed to contact anyone younger than 18 and he is to have no contact with his daughter or her mother, the state’s attorney’s office reported.

“The very idea that a father could cause such severe injury to his own child, as is alleged in this case, is inconceivable,” said DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin in a statement. “Today’s charges send a message that my office will aggressively prosecute any and all cases of suspected child abuse.”