Foster father from Crystal Lake found guilty of battery for ‘suspicious’ bruises on child’s ears

A Crystal Lake man was found guilty Tuesday of battery against his 4-year-old foster child, whose ears he was accused of pulling on and bruising.

David Thomforde, 57, of the 3700 block of Live Oak Road, was convicted on two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery involving physical contact and bodily harm, according to McHenry County court records.

Jurors deliberated about 90 minutes. Earlier Tuesday, they watched a video of the boy telling a forensic interviewer that Thomforde pulled and squished his ears. Prosecutors say Thomforde’s actions sometime between Nov. 1 and Nov. 21, 2022 caused the bruising, photos of which were shown to the jury.

Dr. Jason Layman, an emergency room doctor, said he saw the boy on Nov. 22, 2022, at Northwestern Medicine in Huntley. He testified that the bruises looked “intentional” and he did not believe the child caused them himself. He described them as “highly suspicious” and “nonaccidental.”

Thomforde also took the stand briefly and said “absolutely not” when asked if he ever pulled, squished or tugged on the child’s ears. In closing arguments his attorney, Jamie Wombacher, said the state did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that prosecution witnesses – including the boy, now 6 and no longer in Thomforde’s care – were not credible. Wombacher said the child changed his story and said nobody did anything to his ears that he didn’t want. She told jurors he is “an adorable boy,” but they cannot find Thomforde guilty based on that.

In a video of the child being interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center by Rosemary Pegau, a forensic interviewer, the day following his emergency room visit, he said his dad pulled and squished his ears. He said his foster parents were sad because he would not be living with them anymore and that his dad, referring to Thomforde, did not love him. When Pegau asked him where his home would be now that he was leaving Thomforde’s household, he replied, “I don’t know.”

Wombacher pointed out the video also showed the child talking about a cartoon character as if it were real. The defense attorney questioned whether the child knew what was real, noting he did not give any details surrounding the alleged ear pulling. Wombacher also questioned why the state did not call witnesses to testify from Illinois Department of Children and Family Services or his daycare, from which the allegations were first reported to authorities.

The boy and three other foster children were removed from the home after the allegations were made, according to court testimony. Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret O’Brien said Thomforde “had the privilege of being a foster parent to [the boy]. Instead of giving him a better life, he abused him.”

After reporting the abuse, the child’s life “was turned upside down” and he “went to foster home, after foster home, after foster home,” O’Brien said.

Thomforde faces up to 364 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,500 when sentenced Aug. 14. He also will be required to register as a violent offender against children, prosecutors said.