BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat
Police have a St. Clair County man in custody after a 2-year-old girl was beaten so badly that she may have to eat from a feeding tube for the rest of her life.
Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of 110 Princeton Drive near Belleville, was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery to a child.
Monroe was watching his girlfriend's daughter while the girlfriend was at work, said St. Clair County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson.
County Sheriff's Department Capt. Steve Johnson talks about the charges against Kraig A. Monroe, 24, of unincorporated Belleville. Monroe was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery of a child. - Zia Nizami/BND
Monroe is an unemployed roofer, and the girlfriend works in a nursing home.
Monroe is accused of punching the child repeatedly in the stomach, while she sat in an Elmo baby chair, to silence her crying during the course of about four days, Johnson said.
"How can you describe it other than hell?" Johnson said.
The girl was vomiting, lethargic and going in and out of consciousness when she was taken by her mother to Memorial Hospital in Belleville about 10 a.m. Monday. By 4 p.m. that day, the girl was transported to Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis.
On Tuesday, she underwent surgery to remove a quarter of her intestines. She remained in critical condition Wednesday afternoon. The surgery was needed as a direct result of the beating, Johnson said.
"She's on a feeding tube and will be on for a long time if not the rest of her life, if she survives this, and numerous other injuries including a broken leg and a previously broken arm that is healing," Johnson said.
Large clumps of hair also had been pulled out from her head, Johnson said.
Monroe is being held in the St. Clair County Jail on $500,000 bail.
The girl's mother was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, though she has not been charged, Johnson said. Johnson declined to name the woman because she has not been charged.
"The mother came home from work on Sunday and the child was vomiting and was lethargic, and the mother did nothing other than give the baby Motrin," Johnson said.
Monroe and the girl's mother have known each other since high school. They started dating about four months ago. Police do not know when she moved into Monroe's trailer.
Authorities are investigating whether other children living in the household were abused, Johnson said. There are no signs of injuries or indications of past abuse at this point for the other children, Johnson said.
Monroe's 5-year-old daughter and the girlfriend's two other children, ages 4 and 6, also live in the trailer.
Monroe's child slept on a bed in the trailer, while the girlfriend's three children, including the 2-year-old victim, slept on the floor, Johnson said.
Police also found drug paraphernalia and a large pit bull in the trailer.
"It was a complete trash bin inside this trailer. When I searched it, I was afraid to lean on anything it was so disgusting," Johnson said.
The girl's biological father either works or lives in Kentucky. It was unclear whether he has custody of the child, but he is now at the hospital with the girl, Johnson said.
Johnson said Wednesday afternoon that police were looking into why Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Memorial Hospital, where the girl initially was taken, did not contact law enforcement.
Johnson said later Wednesday that Memorial Hospital employees followed their internal procedure and contacted DCFS, which didn't notify police.
"Memorial followed its policy to report suspected child abuse cases by contacting the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. This was done and is documented," hospital spokeswoman Anne Thomure said in a statement.
Sheriff's officials plan to meet with Memorial staff to establish procedures concerning law enforcement.
Sheriff's investigators were called in about 6 p.m. Monday by Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis about a critically injured 2-year-old.
When the girl was taken to the hospital on Monday, she already had a cast on her leg. DCFS was called to the home last week, Johnson said. The agency was told Feb. 23 about the girl's broken leg, but the Sheriff's Department was not notified.
"When I found that out, that DCFS was notified that this child had a broken leg and they were looking into that, I was very shocked that we were not notified," Johnson said. "There may be more to that which justifies them not notifying us. At this point, I don't know."
Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for DCFS, said Wednesday night: "We strive to work closely with local law enforcement and we welcome their input. ... We coordinate our investigations with local law enforcement and work with them as needed in each individual investigation."
Marlowe said DCFS makes a distinction between investigations of neglect and abuse. "Not every case we deal with involves local law enforcement," he said.
"DCFS is investigating an allegation of neglect against the mother in this family based on a report received Feb. 23," Marlowe said. "We are also investigating allegations of abuse against Mr. Monroe based on a report received March 1."
DCFS had no contact with this family before these reports and the three other children living in this home are now in the care of relatives, Marlowe said.
DCFS is looking into the safety of the other children involved, which is a standard part of the investigation, Marlowe said.
"(The) Illinois Supreme Court does not allow me to talk toward the character of a person, but I can tell you in my experience as a law enforcement officer, that a person who is convicted of this, in these extreme nature of injuries, is just a waste of human space," Johnson said.
