'You're Not A Loved Child:' Details Released In Lake Co. Child Abuse Case

LAKE COUNTY, IL — After years of alleged abuse that included beatings, death threats and being told he was unloved, an 11-year-old boy ran from his Fox Lake home wearing only underwear late last week and asked an employee at a local floral shop to call 911, police said.

On Monday, a Lake County judge ordered Cody Marion, 35, the boyfriend of the child's mother, Priscilla Marshall, to remain behind bars on charges of aggravated battery of a child, domestic battery causing bodily harm and child endangerment as court proceedings move forward in the child abuse case.

Prosecutors said Marion failed to stop years of abuse leveled against the boy who was found bruised and bloodied while fleeing his home on Friday.

Marshall, 34, has also been charged with one count of aggravated battery of a child, two counts of domestic battery and one count of child endangerment, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. She is expected to appear for a detention hearing Tuesday.

Court documents provided to Patch.com Tuesday detail the boy's account of the abuse he sustained while living at the home in Fox Lake with four other children.

Authorities say the boy told officers the abuse started more than two years ago, stating his mom beat him with her hands, household objects and extension cords; forced him to kneel on uneven floorboards; and made him write in a notebook as punishment, "you're not a loved child. Everybody hates you."

Marshall told the boy he deserved to die, threatened to stab him 33 times in the back and said that she would dump his body one day, according to court documents.

The boy was denied normal schooling, forced to eat separately, and subjected to various punishments, including having soap poured in his mouth.

Police removed boy and his four siblings, who are ages 1, 3, 7 and 13 years old, from the home and brought them to the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center.

Doctors examined the boy and found numerous bruises on his head, arms and legs; dried blood in his nose and mouth; and red welts across his chest, arms, and legs. He also had dried blueish soapy substance on his face and chest, according to court documents.

During Monday’s detention hearing, prosecutors argued the child had experienced years of psychological and physical abuse by his mother and that Marion, the mother’s boyfriend, had been complicit in the abuse and failed to protect the child, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said cases like this show the importance of protecting vulnerable children and holding offenders accountable.

"Children must be protected with every tool we have. Our office will seek to detain these offenders while they are awaiting trial, and then we will make sure that we hold them accountable after we secure guilty findings," Rinehart said. "To think of a child having to flee their own parents is heartbreaking, and I would tell anyone abusing their child that you will face serious consequences when we find you."

Marion’s next court date is scheduled for April 2 for a preliminary hearing, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. Marshall’s detention hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.