A Cary man has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to strangling a child in Cary in a case where he was separately accused of driving drunk with two children in his car.
Ryan A. Poltzer, 43, of Cary, was charged in February 2023 with aggravated domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated battery of a child causing great bodily harm and two counts of child endangerment.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said Poltzer drove a vehicle in December 2022 in McHenry County while consuming alcohol.
Two children, ages four and five, were passengers in the car, the complaint said.
Poltzer, also sometime in December 2022, strangled the five-year-old child, a grand jury indictment said, adding that Poltzer applied pressure on the throat of the child, impeding their breathing.
The incident occurred at a residence in the 2800 block of Sun Valley Drive in Cary, the complaint said.
The mother of the children reported that Poltzer had been physically abusive to her on numerous occasions, leaving her injured, according to a petition for order of protection.
On one of the occasions, she said that Poltzer tried pushing her out of a moving car and that he had mentioned wanting to kill her and the children.
The woman said that Poltzer smacked her daughter in the face and also hit her son, according to the petition, which referenced the incident where Poltzer was accused of strangling the child.
Poltzer was out on bond in a prior misdemeanor domestic battery case involving the woman at the time of his arrest.
In December, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke Poltzer’s pre-trial release after saying he violated his release conditions by committing new criminal offenses.
The new offenses involved a driving under the influence and resisting a peace officer case in Island Lake.
Poltzer’s release was revoked by a judge and he has been held in the McHenry County Jail since the December decision.
Court records show Poltzer pleaded guilty this week to the most serious charge against him, aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The rest of his charges were dismissed.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis approved the plea on Wednesday and sentenced Poltzer to four years of probation and 60 days in jail pursuant to the negotiated plea deal.
His time in jail is already considered served. Poltzer was also ordered to be fitted with a SCRAM device, which is an alcohol monitor, for 120 days.
He was ordered to undergo treatment for addiction and obtain a psychological evaluation, a sentencing order said.
Poltzer’s misdemeanor domestic battery case was dismissed as part of his plea. His driving under the influence case remains active.