A woman from Illinois is back on the streets after being arrested for allegedly attacking a 6-year-old child in December.
Martha Dunham, 36, was released from the Ogle County Jail on January 9, but a judge ordered her to stay away from children under 18 as a condition of her release... Continue reading here ▶
She had been arrested on December 13 on felony charges for aggravated battery of a child under 13 and domestic battery.
Court documents from Shaw Local show that Dunham was accused of headbutting the child and pulling their hair.
The exact relationship between Dunham and the child, or her connection to the child’s mother, has not been revealed. The child’s mother filed for a protective order against Dunham.
The alleged assaults were described as “physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature.”
Dunham pleaded not guilty to the charges during a court appearance on December 23. A hearing for the protective order, which the child’s mother filed after the December incident, took place on January 7.
The mother requested a two-year extension of the order, but when asked by Ogle County Judge Russell Crull if she would agree to it, Dunham asked, “Can we do it until my criminal case is settled?”
Judge Crull extended the order until January 28 and then stepped down from the case due to a conflict of interest, as he had previously represented the child’s mother privately.
A new hearing was held on January 9 with Judge Anthony Peska. While prosecutors requested Dunham remain in jail because of past domestic violence charges dating back to 2006, Peska decided to release her under the condition that she has no contact with any children under 18.
Dunham’s next court hearing regarding the protective order is on January 28, and her criminal case will be heard on March 18.
