After probation violations, Marengo man sent to prison for 5-year term for battery to infant

A Marengo man who authorities said violated the terms of his probation was resentenced to five years in prison for “grabbing or hitting” a 6-week-old infant, causing the child to be hospitalized in 2020.

Shawn P. Fontaine, 33, pleaded guilty in 2022 to aggravated battery and was sentenced to 180 days in McHenry County jail and 30 months of probation, court records show. Fontaine had been accused of “violently” shaking “and/or violently” striking the child, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his sentencing in May, saying Fontaine failed to comply with conditions for more than a year, including failing to report to his probation officer five times, failing to report for a random alcohol and drug test four times, testing positive for alcohol in April and failing to complete the recommended substance abuse treatment, according to court documents.

McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis resentenced Fontaine last week, imposing the five-year sentence against him.

Fontaine’s original sentence had required him to spend 60 days in jail, with the remainder of his jail sentence set aside, according to court documents. The probation conditions, requiring Fontaine to submit to urine screens for alcohol and drugs, participate in mental health and substance abuse evaluations, and participate in anger management and parenting classes, the court records show.

Fontaine was arrested after police received information about an infant admitted to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, Huntley police said at the time. The severity of the injuries prompted officials to transfer the child to Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, then-police Chief Michael Klunk said. At that time, the child was taken into custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Fontaine also is required to pay a fine and fees totaling $3,848, according to court records.