MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — Nearly 20 police reports two DCFS workers allegedly failed to review will be allowed in trial related to the handling of the AJ Freund case.
Back in Sep. 2020, Andrew Polovin and Carlos Acosta were taken into custody.
Polovin was Acosta’s supervisor in the months before Andrew “AJ” Freund’s body was found in a shallow grave near his family’s Crystal Lake home in April 2019. Freund was tortured and beaten prior to his death.
Both Polovin and Acosta pleaded not guilty to child endangerment and reckless conduct charges.
In their upcoming trial, a judge ruled that 19 police reports tied to Freund’s abuse at the home will be allowed to be presented.
Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Ashley Romito told the Daily Herald that due to Polovin and Acosta allegedly not seeking the police reports, they “put (AJ) in dangerous circumstances that led to his torture and murder some months later.”
The same month the boy was killed, Acosta and Polovin were placed on desk duty and they both left the agency later that year.
Freund’s mother, JoAnn Cunningham, pleaded guilty to her murder charge and was sentenced to 35 years. His father, Andrew Freund, pleaded guilty to an assortment of charges and was sentenced to 30 years.