A Marengo man previously convicted of beating a 7-month-old infant, leaving him in critical condition, has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for strangling a woman in Marengo.
Dylan M. Abbott, 33, of Marengo, was charged in February with two counts of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of domestic battery enhanced and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence.
The Marengo Police Department responded on February 7 to a report of a domestic disturbance that was reported by neighbors.
Prosecutors said officers arrived and were able to hear a female victim and her small child crying out for help.
Officers made entry into the home and found Abbott walking out of the bedroom where the victim and child were located.
The woman reported she had been strangled and lost consciousness multiple times while she struggled with Abbott.
She was found to have markings on her neck consistent with strangulation. Abbott was taken into custody.
A criminal complaint said Abbott also slapped and punched the woman in the face multiple times, causing swelling and a laceration to her lower lip as well as bruising on the left side of her face.
She was also shoved out of a chair, resulting in an injury to her right shoulder.
Court documents said Abbott took the victim’s phone and disabled an Alexa device that was capable of making a 911 call during the domestic incident.
Abbott has a previous conviction for aggravated battery to a child after beating his girlfriend’s seven-month-old infant, leaving the boy in critical condition, in July 2014 in Boone County.
He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was on parole at the time of the Marengo incident after being released in November 2023.
Court records show Abbott, who has been held in the McHenry County Jail since his arrest in February, entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Abbott pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, on Wednesday and was sentenced to five years and six months in the Illinois Department of Corrections by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt pursuant to the agreement.
Abbott will be required to serve 85% of the sentence in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines and followed by four years of mandatory supervised release.
A criminal order of protection was granted on behalf of the victim that will remain in place for two years following Abbott’s completion of mandatory supervised release.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese lauded Marengo Police Officers McGinely and Phelps, along with Sergeant Boyce, for “their excellent work on this case.”
“Their prompt response and immediate action stopped this brutal attack from becoming worse,” Freese said.