Baby's Torn Esophagus Caused by Force Feeding: Prosecutor

A child care worker at an Oak Park school was charged Saturday with aggravated battery of a child after police found surveillance video that appears to show her force feeding an 8-month-old infant.

Prosecutors allege the feeding tore the child’s esophagus, which needed to be repaired through emergency surgery.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Karelia Michelle Montenegro, 35, of the 1300 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, and she must remain at home under electronic monitoring, according to Oak Park police.

The child was in Montenegro’s care at Oak Park Montessori, 937 Garfield St.

The child was dropped off at the school around 7 a.m. Dec. 2, and school staff contacted the mother around 11 a.m. to report the infant’s neck was swollen, according to police.

The mother took her child to a pediatrician, who sent them to the West Suburban Medical Center emergency room. Doctors there had the child moved by ambulance around 5 p.m. to Lurie Children’s Hospital for an examination and a successful surgery. The child is expected to spend a few more days in the hospital.

A hospital official contacted the local 911 emergency services dispatch center around midnight Wednesday to report the possibility of child abuse.

Police report the daycare center’s owner cooperated and gave them the video that lead to Montenegro’s arrest Thursday.

“While the injury was not necessarily indicative of abuse, it was considered suspicious because of the lack of a reasonable explanation for what occurred,” according to police.

Montenegro’s next court date is Dec. 10 at the Fourth Municipal District Courthouse in Maywood.

Aggravated battery of a child is a class X felony with a minimum sentence of six to 30 years in state prison with a fine of up to $25,000.

Photo via the Oak Park police.