Judge reverses himself, says dad's photo of duct-taped toddler a misdemeanor

The move by Judge Lawrence Flood came two months after he convicted Andre Curry of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery, both felonies, and was scheduled to sentence him to a potential prison term. Instead the judge sentenced Curry to 18 months of probation and ordered him to take parenting classes.

In reducing Curry's conviction to misdemeanor domestic battery, the judge said that after reviewing the law, he found prosecutors had not proved Curry intended to obstruct the child's breathing. Flood cited testimony from police and Curry's sister that the tape was over the girl's mouth for only a few seconds.

"In your rush to show everyone how funny you were, you used . . . a helpless 22-month-old child, who was completely dependent on you, as a prop," the judge lectured the 22-year-old father. "This was not funny, OK? I want you to understand the gravity of your lack of judgment in this case."

Family members have said that Curry is playful and the photograph was meant to be a joke. But the image went viral on the Internet, prompting a flood of calls to police and state child welfare authorities from Curry's friends on Facebook and others who had seen it.

Curry told police he was playing with his daughter at their South Side home and used blue painter's tape to bind her ankles and wrists and cover her mouth. He then snapped a photo and uploaded it on his Facebook page.

Across the top of the photo were the words: "This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back," according to prosecutors and police reports. The message was followed with a winking emoticon.

On Friday, Curry thanked the judge in a soft voice and apologized to his family.

After Curry's felony conviction in November, his attorney, Sam Adam Jr., blasted prosecutors, saying they had overcharged the case because of the publicity and should have been more concerned about what's best for the child.