Dad charged with taping baby thanks church
By Adeshina Emmanuel Staff Reporter January 29, 2012 5:27PM
Andre Curry thanks the the members of Life Center Church in the Washington Park neighborhood for their help and support in getting him out of jail. | NBC5
Updated: March 1, 2012 8:39AM
A man charged with child abuse for allegedly binding his 23-month-old daughter’s eyes, mouth, feet and hands with tape and posting the picture on Facebook thanked members of a South Side church he said helped get him out of jail.
Andre Curry, 21, was released from jail Friday night after being held for a month on aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint charges.
Torrey Barrett, pastor of the Life Center Church of God in Christ visited Curry about three days after he was locked up. He also has mentored Curry and helped garner more than 450 signatures for an open letter to officials in his defense — efforts the 21-year-old said at a church event Sunday helped in his release.
Curry expressed thanks Sunday at Life Center in the Washington Park neighborhood, WMAQ-Channel 5 reported. “I would like to thank Pastor Torrey and everyone behind me for their support and everything that they’ve done for me,” Curry said on WMAQ.
“Most important of all, I’d like to thank Life Center . . . from the bottom of my heart. You are part of the reason I am free today. I praise you.”
Barrett is the founder and director of the K.L.E.O. Community Family Life Center, a non-profit organization “dedicated to strengthening families,” according to its website. The center offers services to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.
“When I heard about the case I wanted to see if in fact this was a man who perpetrated domestic violence,” Barrett said.
Instead, what he found after visiting Curry was “a young man who made a terrible mistake and needed some help,” the pastor said.
Curry cried during their meeting, he said, and after two minutes of conversation, he was convinced the controversial picture had been a joke.
The girl’s mother also added it was a lighthearted joke. “He’s been called a monster and stuff and Dre’s just a great guy,” Yesmin Doss told WMAQ.
Barrett said: “We’re not minimizing the fact that what Andre did was wrong. . . . “We’re just asking other people to understand what the intent of the action was.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment