A father was arrested after police found his 4-year-old child wandering around outside in Algonquin, just months after he was convicted of endangering the girl’s life in a previous case.
Kenneth M. Velardi Jr., 37, of Algonquin, was charged with endangering the life or health of a child, a Class 3 felony.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said a 4-year-old girl was found around 5:15 p.m. on March 1.
The child was located at Cornish Park, 101 South Harrison Street in Algonquin.
It was determined the child opened and walked out of the back door of their residence in the 400 block of La Fox River Drive, the complaint said.
The child managed to continue walking unattended for approximately two blocks to Cornish Park before being found.
Officers with the Algonquin Police Department made contact with Velardi around 5:30 p.m. that day.
The complaint said Velardi, the father of the child, had been unaware that the girl had left the house and only became aware after officers arrived at his home.
Velardi was arrested and transported to the McHenry County Jail.
He was released after posting 10% of a $15,000 bond, records show.
Court records show Velardi was convicted of the same offense, child endangerment, in November.
A criminal complaint said Velardi left the same child unsupervised for an extended period of time on August 5.
The child was able to roam from the residence on La Fox River Drive and head towards a busy area, the complaint said.
The child was also unwashed and in a soiled diaper from the day prior, the complaint said.
Velardi pleaded guilty in that case and was ordered to attend a parenting class and sentenced to one year of conditional discharge.
He is scheduled to appear in court in his new case on April 6.