A South Side woman has been charged with battery after her 7-year-old son was taken to the hospital after he was seen running along Lake Shore Drive in a pull-up diaper over weekend.
The wounds, bruises and burns on the boy’s body were the most injuries the doctor examining him had ever seen on a human being, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.
Caroline Woods, 24, was denied bail Tuesday.
The boy told authorities that he was often hit with several objects, including an extension cord and a baseball bat, and was forced to sleep in a closet and use the bathroom there, Scaduto said.
He was also forced to sit on the stove in the home he shared with his mother and boyfriend in the 4800 block of South Chicago Beach Drive, Scaduto said.
“These are depraved acts,” Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. told Woods. “You are a danger to society.”
Prosecutors did not say whether Woods’ boyfriend has been charged.
Both the boy and his younger sister were taken into protective custody on Sunday, according to Veronica Resa, a spokeswoman with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
There has been no prior contact with the family, Resa said.
Authorities said someone called 911 Sunday after seeing the boy running along Lake Shore Drive by 47th Street.
