Crime & Safety
Andrew Freund, Former Crystal Lake Lawyer, Disbarred
The former Crystal Lake attorney is behind bars for the role he played in the murder of his 5-year-old son AJ Freund.
CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — Andrew Freund, a former Crystal Lake attorney, has officially been disbarred.
Freund, who was licensed as an attorney in 1984, was disbarred on consent following his convictions in McHenry County of aggravated battery of a child, involuntary manslaughter and concealment of homicidal death, according to a news release from the Illinois State Bar Association.
He was sentenced last fall to 30 years in prison following the death of his son AJ Freund, 5, of Crystal Lake.
Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Caryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Prior to the Illinois Supreme Court's January ruling, Freund's law license was suspended in 2019 on an interim basis, and he was not allowed to practice law. It wasn't the first time the state's Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission decided to suspend his license.
In October 2015, the ARDC suspended it after Freund violated a court order while representing Joann Cunningham in her divorce case.
Find out what's happening in Crystal Lake-Caryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Cunningham, AJ Freund's mother, is currently serving a 35-year sentence for the murder of the 5-year-old boy.
During the divorce proceedings, Cunningham and Freund were held in indirect contempt of court for violating a court order that instructed Cunningham "and her agents" not to transfer, dispose, sell or damage any items in a McHenry home owned by Cunningham's husband at that time, Craig Summerkamp, Jr., according to court records obtained by Patch.
In an October 2012 petition for adjudication of indirect criminal contempt, Summerkamp's attorney states two flat screen TVs, a cable box, patio set, a furnace, towels and kitchen utensils were taken from the McHenry home. The items were then brought to Freund's home on Dole Avenue where Cunningham was living, according to court documents.
MORE ON PATCH
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.