A Waukegan couple is facing serious charges after prosecutors say two young children, who were sometimes locked in their room, suffered a “year-long slow torture” that led to them being severely malnourished.
Marcos A. Campos, 25, of Waukegan, and Lilian Arellano, 32, of Waukegan, were charged with aggravated battery of a child causing permanent disability, aggravated domestic battery, two counts of aggravated battery to a child causing bodily harm and reckless conduct causing great bodily harm.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Brooke Wanzenberg said two children, who were ages 2 and 4 at the time, went to live with Campos and Arellano in January 2023.
The children’s biological mother was incarcerated after she committed a shooting where Arellano was the victim. Campos is the children’s biological father.
In March 2024, one of the children, who was three years old at that time, collapsed in the Waukegan home where she was living with Campos and Arellano, Wanzenberg said.
An ambulance was called but Campos was the one who transported the girl to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
Doctors recognized that the girl’s condition was beyond their medical capabilities and sought to transfer her to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Wanzenberg said.
Wanzenberg said Campos was reluctant to allow the transfer to occur and doctors called the Waukegan Police Department.
Doctors informed Campos that they were going to take medical custody of the child if he refused to let her be transferred. The girl was ultimately transferred.
The child was showing signs of severe malnutrition, Wanzenberg said. The three-year-old had a distended stomach and her bones were visible throughout her body due to her weight being 22 pounds.
She was hospitalized for over five days. Wanzenberg said Campos told doctors that the girl ate regularly three times a day and had no feeding issues.
Hospital staff found that the claim was impossible based on the child’s condition, Wanzenberg said.
The girl gained a significant amount of weight during her five-day stay in the hospital by being provided with regular meals and snacks.
Extensive testing was performed on the three-year-old that found no underlying medical conditions that could have caused the significant malnutrition, Wanzenberg said.
Wanzenberg said doctors attributed the situation to child abuse and the severity of the condition was exacerbated by the lack of medical attention, which placed her at risk of death.
The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was notified and other children under the couple’s care were to be brought to the hospital for evaluation.
The girl’s brother, who was five years old at that time and the second child living in the couple’s home, was evaluated and also found to be experiencing severe malnutrition, Wanzenberg said.
DCFS took custody of the children and placed them with other family members.
Investigators went to Campos and Arellano’s residence in the 2300 block of West Glen Flora Avenue in Waukegan and evaluated the home.
They found food in the refrigerator and pantry in the home, noting there was no food scarcity, Wanzenberg said. They also learned that Campos, Arellano and two of Arellano’s children live in the basement of the home.
Campos’ two children were living in an upstairs bedroom in the home which had an exterior lock on the door, Wanzenberg said.
Investigators met with school staff of the five-year-old boy and learned the school had previously reported to DCFS that the boy had shown up to school with bruises multiple times.
Wanzenberg said Campos would sometimes come to the school during lunch and sit with his child and not allow him to eat.
Campos told the school his child was not allowed to eat at school due to a dairy allergy, which he provided no documentation for, Wanzenberg said.
The child’s teacher one time caught the five-year-old boy taking crackers from the classroom. The boy was scared and asked the teacher not to tell his father.
Wanzenberg said DCFS was also notified when the child was caught stealing food from the cafeteria and eating out of a trash can.
DCFS made a report and the child was interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center.
The child told investigators that Campos does not allow him to eat at school, Wanzenberg said. He also said Campos and Arellano would lock him in his bedroom.
DCFS found that the other children who lived in the home with Campos and Arellano were healthy and of normal weight, Wanzenberg said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Campos and Arellano earlier this month. The couple faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge.
Prosecutors filed petitions to detain Campos and Arellano pending trial, arguing they pose a danger to the children.
Wanzenberg said it is believed that Campos and Arellano neglected Campos’ two children to retaliate against their biological mother who fired shots at Arellano.
“Both of these defendants sat at the table and ate food while these two children were forced to be locked in their room and not be provided with adequate food in order to grow and be healthy,” Wanzenberg said in court.
The prosecutor described the situation as a “year-long slow torture.”
The two children were removed from the custody of Campos and Arellano in March 2024 and are now doing well.
Defense attorneys for the couple denied the allegations against them and said they were cooperative with authorities. The attorneys argued Campos and Arellano do not pose a danger and sought their release.
During the detention hearing, the defense attorneys apparently began laughing while the prosecutor spoke which prompted Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim to scold them.
Arellano is being represented by attorney Daniel R. Zeit and Campos is being represented by Joseph D. Zeit and Douglas E. Zeit.
“You’re both laughing and I don’t find anything more offensive than what you’re doing right now. Knock it off! Knock it off!” Nerheim said as the defense attorneys denied they were laughing.
Nerheim granted petitions to detain Campos and Arellano pending trial.
“The defense counsel would laugh during argument in this case is beyond believable. I can understand you both disagree with the State all you want but I expect more from both of you. It’s absurd,” the judge said before making his detention ruling.
Campos and Arellano remain held in the Lake County Jail and are scheduled to appear in court again on February 26 for a preliminary hearing.