Cops: Elgin mother drove daughter, encouraged fight
Anita Roost (Elgin Police Dept. / April 27, 2012)
 
An Elgin mother was charged Thursday with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and aggravated battery after she drove her 16-year-old daughter to a local park so her daughter could fight another girl and even videotaped the incident, police said. Anita R. Roost, 46, appeared in Kane County court on Thursday after being charged in connection with the April 2 incident, according to police.
According to a police report, Roost was in a car with her daughter and two of the girl's friends along with Roost's 14-year-old son when her daughter received a call from another friend who informed the daughter that a 15-year-old girl with whom she had been having problems wanted to meet at a park to talk things out.
The girl told her mother that she wanted to go to the park but instead of talking, the girl told her mother she wanted to fight the girl, police said. The mother then drove the girl to Shallow Hill Park, 340 Cassidy Lane, where she dropped the girl off along with her friends, police said.
After dropping the girl off, Roost allegedly drove around the park and she drove up to her daughter and her friends who were now speaking with the 15-year-old girl and her friends. The 15-year-old told the daughter that she wanted to talk about their problems and began walking away, police said.
As the girls were beginning to walk, Roost told her daughter to, "Kick her a--," according to the report. Roost then yelled from her car window toward the other girl that her daughter was, "going to kick her a--," police said.
After the Roost's taunting, her daughter tried to get the other girl to fight but the girl tried to "defuse" the situation. Roost at this point took cell phone video of the interaction.
Roost then called one of her daughter's friends on her cell phone and told her, "Enough's enough, either kick her a-- or let's go home."
Seconds later Roost's daughter attacked the other girl. The attack was recorded by one of the victim's friends and police pursued charges after finding the videotape.
Police allege that after that beating, Roost drove her daughter to a nearby house and encouraged her to begin another fight with the same girl. The owners of that home came outside and ordered the Roosts to leave before a second fight began.
Roost's daughter was charged as a juvenile with aggravated battery in the public way and was detained at the Kane County Youth Home.