AJ Freund’s DCFS caseworker to be sentenced in child endangerment case Thursday in McHenry County court

The former Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker convicted of mishandling the AJ Freund case before the Crystal Lake boy’s murder could face prison time when he’s due to be sentenced Thursday.

Carlos J. Acosta, 58, of Woodstock, was found guilty in October by Lake County Judge George Strickland following a bench trial of two counts of endangering the life or health of a child, Class 3 felonies that carry a prison sentence of between five and 10 years. The conviction also is probational.

Before sentencing, his attorneys are set to argue for a new trial.

In a motion for new trial filed in the McHenry County courthouse, Acosta says he did not receive a fair trial.

Acosta “did not receive a fair and impartial trial due to the court’s admission of police reports and hearsay documents,” DCFS procedures and investigation files, medical records, LEADS reports and court records, Acosta’s attorneys from The Law Offices of Lee & Wombacher in Woodstock wrote in the motion.

The motion asserts that testimony provided by state experts regarding DCFS procedures “exceeded” the scope of permissible expert testimony.

The state’s case included “demonstrative exhibits” being a large binder, including numerous pages of DCFS procedures that were not in effect on Dec. 18, 2018, when Acosta was investigating a large bruise found on AJ’s hip and bruises on his face.

The procedures were rewritten after Jan. 4, 2019, when the case was closed.

“The state’s attempt to mislead the [judge] was improper,” according to the motion.

In handing down the guilty verdict, Strickland noted several ways Acosta failed to ensure that the 5-year-old Crystal Lake boy – the subject of DCFS investigations since his birth – was protected from a dysfunctional, dangerous household.

AJ was allowed to remain with his family despite unexplained injuries found on the boy on Dec. 18, 2018, four months before his murder, as well as indications that his mother was continuing to inject heroin, a history of domestic violence and mental illness in the family, and a chaotic and filthy home, Strickland said in his ruling.

AJ died on April 15, 2019, after his mother beat and berated him and made him stand in a cold shower. He was put to bed cold, wet and naked, according to courtroom testimony. AJ’s parents, JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., eventually pleaded guilty in the boy’s beating death and the concealment and burial of his body in a Woodstock field, respectively. They’re both now serving long prison terms.

Acosta’s former supervisor Andrew Polovin, 51, of Island Lake, was found not guilty of endangering the life or health of a child and reckless conduct.