PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for abusing a five-year-old boy left in his care in 2024.
Carl Rogers Jr., 31, was sentenced for causing a traumatic brain injury to the child in April 2024, according to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s office. Rogers was found guilty of Aggravated Battery to a child during a bench trial in January. He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.
During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Alferink urged the court to impose a sentence near the upper end of the possible 30-year range. Alferink noted that the victim was only five years old, that Rogers caused his injuries, and then did nothing to help him.
In April 2024, the child’s mother went to work and left her son and daughter in the care of Rogers, who is the father of her daughter. When she left for work, her son was uninjured and appeared normal. Upon returning home, she found him unresponsive and immediately called 911, and he was taken to the hospital.
At trial, the treating physician and a child abuse expert testified that the boy’s traumatic brain injury was non-accidental, required a severe amount of force to occur, and was consistent with abuse.
The child has since physically recovered from his injuries.
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