Woman accused of kidnapping son from Woodstock foster home

A 29-year-old Chicago woman accused of kidnapping her son from his Woodstock foster home relinquished the child unharmed to authorities on Monday, police said Thursday.

On Sunday, Aleatha M. Moore “secretly took” the boy from a Woodstock home without the knowledge of the child’s foster parent, McHenry County court records show.

Moore is charged in McHenry County with kidnapping and child abduction. The most serious charge, kidnapping, is a felony punishable by as many as seven years in prison.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 30.

The alleged kidnapping violated a July 19, 2018, Cook County judge’s order that removed the child from Moore’s care, court documents show.

Moore is accused of refusing to return the child at the foster parent’s request and again declined when Woodstock police called Moore and told her to return the child, according to a criminal complaint. She also refused to disclose the child’s location to police, according to the complaint.

On Monday, after negotiations with a Woodstock Police detective, Moore eventually agreed to relinquish custody of her child to a DCFS caseworker in Chicago, according to a news release.

She turned herself in at the Woodstock Police Department the next day and was released after posting bail.

Moore had not hired or been appointed an attorney to represent her on the criminal charges as of Thursday, records show.