Crystal Lake daycare owner rejects plea deal in child battery case, risks decades in prison if found guilty

A Crystal Lake daycare owner accused of hurting a child turned down a plea deal with a 10-year sentence. Now she's heading to trial, and risking a much longer sentence if convicted.

A Crystal Lake daycare owner – facing 18 to 90 years in prison if convicted of hurting a baby in her care – has turned down a plea deal that could have resulted in less than a decade behind bars. Ann L. Migliorato, 63, is charged with three Class X felony counts of aggravated battery to a child, another felony count of battery and unlawful operation of a child care facility, according to the indictment filed in McHenry County court. With a plea deal seemingly off the table, her trial is set to begin July 27.

During a pretrial hearing Friday, Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito told Judge Tiffany Davis that there had been negotiations for a plea agreement in the case but that Migliorato had rejected the offer that was to expire after the hearing. She was offered 10 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to one count, the prosecutor said. Migliorato would have been required to serve 85% of the term followed by mandatory supervised release.

Davis explained to Migliorato that if she is convicted on all three Class X counts, sentencing on each is mandated to to be served consecutively. The judge asked the woman, who has been in custody of the McHenry County jail since her arrest April 19, 2024, if she understood that she would face 18 to 90 years in prison if convicted. She responded that she did not “believe” she understood all of the details, but now she does.

Davis read Migliorato all her rights and urged her to have candid discussions with her attorney, Russell Luchtenburg, who appeared via Zoom during the hearing. Earlier in the hearing, Davis granted the state’s motion that information regarding the potential sentence not be introduced at trial. Davis reserved her ruling on a state’s motion to preclude any argument of prior good acts or good reputation involving other children in Migliorato’s care.

Luchtenburg objected to this motion, saying that Migliorato has been in the daycare business for about 24 years and this is the first time she’s had a “complaint of this kind.” His argument would be that there have been no prior complaints or involvement with Illinois Department of Child and Family Services until these charges, he said. Romito said such argument is “not relevant” in this case.

At Migliorato’s trial, prosecutors plan on introducing a video taken by another child in her care that appears to show her yelling at the 11-month-old child while holding him down by his neck and her body weight while the boy screamed and writhed. Migliorato was trying to change his diaper. The video was shown in court at a hearing in November.

“I’m not doing this with you. Are we going to change your diaper or not? I don’t play.

... You might want to give your mom a run for the money, but not me,” Migliorato is seen and heard on the video yelling to the baby while other children in her care are nearby. Eventually, the baby stops screaming and the video stopped.

Prosecutors have said Migliorato, also accused of illegally operating an unlicensed daycare, “fractured” the baby’s ribs while placing him in “a choke hold.” According to an indictment against her, she “forcefully applied pressure” to the baby’s torso, causing the baby “to stop breathing and go limp.” The child who recording the scene on a cellphone then showed the video to her mom, who called DCFS, prosecutors have said.

Luchtenburg objected to the video being introduced and said it was “improper and a violation” of the eavesdropping statute. Migliorato was granted three non-collect phone calls and is set to return to court July 23 for pretrial conference.