Former Illinois DCFS employee sentenced to death for 5-year-old AJ Freund | My status line

CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — A former Illinois DCFS employee has been sentenced to six months in prison in connection with the death of 5-year-old AJ Freund.

Carlos Acosta was also ordered to pay $1,000 to a county advocacy center and perform 200 hours of community service after his sentencing. convicted of child endangerment in October.

Acosta and Andrew Polovin were assigned to investigate the home of Andrew Freund and JoAnn Cunningham.

Police took AJ into protective custody in December 2018 after an officer noticed a large bruise on the boy's hip. The officer had gone to the boy's home after his mother called police to report that her ex-boyfriend had stolen her cell phone and a drug used to treat heroin addiction.

A doctor recommended that the boy not be returned to his mother, but Acosta ended protective custody and let the boy go home with his father. The judge found that Acosta's reports repeatedly omitted potential signs of abuse, such as marks on the boy's face and the family's terrible living conditions.

AJ died in April 2019 after being tortured and beaten by his parents, who then buried his body and reported him missing to police.

The autopsy found the boy was struck multiple times and died from blunt force trauma.

His mother, JoAnn Cunningham, 37, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of her son. The judge said she should serve 100 percent of her sentence.

His father, André Freundwas sentenced to 30 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery on a child and concealment of homicidal death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.