David, lived in the apartment until July. David told police that Ramos and her boyfriend repeatedly struck him with belts and that he did not want to live with his mother again, McCarthy said.

Ramos’ boyfriend was not identified in open court and has not been charged with a crime. But in a news release issued Saturday night, Elk Grove Village police requested the public’s help in locating James P. Jones, 25, whom they described as “a person of interest” in the case. Anyone with information on Jones should call police at (847) 357-4160.

McCarthy said Ramos told police that on Wednesday morning she found Steven unresponsive in her boyfriend’s presence. The defendant and her boyfriend drove Steven to the hospital but the boyfriend left immediately upon arrival, she said.

According to a child abuse pediatrician consulted in the case, Steven’s condition and injuries are consistent with having occurred the night before he was brought to the hospital, McCarthy said.

Associate Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil called Ramos a danger to herself and to society. “Three children suffered allegedly from her hand or from her lack of being a mother if she did not intervene,” Ciesil said.