CourtWatch: Mom Who Let Boyfriend Beat Toddler Wants Sentence Cut

A woman whose eight-year prison sentence for allowing her boyfriend to severely beat her then-2-year-old daughter will ask a judge to reduce her sentence.

Cathleen A Koch, 30, will ask a judge on Oct. 25 to reduce her sentence, according to court records. Koch's story brought a firestorm of criticism and anger from readers late in September.

Koch received the eight-year term on Sept 26 for her earlier guilty plea to one count of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony; five counts of obstructing justice, each a Class 4 felony; and seven counts of child endangerment, each a Class A misdemeanor. As part of the pleas, she agreed that the actions that caused injury to her daughter were exceptionally brutal or heinous in nature and indicative of wanton cruelty.

She was charged because she refused to protect her daughter from her boyfriend, who punched the 23-month-old girl 10 times and slammed her face-first into a bed.in 2010. James C. Cooper, 29, was sentenced March 30, 2012, to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated battery to a child, a Class X felony. He is incarcerated in downstate Ina at Big Muddy Correctional Center.

Before sentencing Koch, 16th Circuit Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon said that throughout nearly two years of court proceedings, Koch remained focused on herself, showed little remorse for her daughter’s injuries and failed to accept responsibility for her role.

“It is unconscionable to this court that a loving parent wouldn’t sacrifice everything to protect a child,” Sheldon said at the time.

The beating occurred Oct. 27, 2010, in a hotel room in the 1500 block of East Main Street, St. Charles, and left the child immediately unresponsive, not breathing and bleeding from her mouth. Authorities said the brutal assault caused severe and permanent brain injuries and broken bones.

Koch was in the room during the beating but refused to stop Cooper or intervene on the child’s behalf. Koch was not injured in the incident. Authorities said Koch lied about the cause of the child’s injuries, lied about Cooper’s whereabouts, and provided other misleading and inaccurate information about Cooper.

As a result of the Oct. 27, 2010, abuse, authorities aid the now 4-year-old girl is permanently handicapped, developmentally delayed, cannot feed herself and cannot run or hop.

Related:

• St. Charles Mom Headed to Prison for Failing to Stop Toddler’s Beating
• Man Accused in Toddler Beating Pleads Guilty
• CourtWatch: Accused Mom Will Go to Trial in March; Prison for Flasher at St. Charles Gym
• CourtWatch: Fight Continues Regarding Statements Made by Accused Mother of Beating Victim
• Indicted Mother Seeks Visitation Rights to Daughter