UPDATE: La Grange Police Get Letters Mad About Sentence for Woman Who Tied Up Child in Basement

Four envelopes received by the July 23 had letters that were mad about a sentence received by Rocio Ochoa, , but did not threaten her, according to Police Chief Michael Holub.

Holub, on July 30, described the letters as "vague and nonspecific." The letters each contained a photo of Ochoa, probably taken off the La Grange Patch website, and some clips from different articles about her, he said.

The sentences were incomplete, but stated she should have received a prison sentence of longer than seven years, but, "were not really a threat to her," Holub said.

All four letters were in one envelope addressed to Holub.

Ochoa is waiting to be transfered to a state prison, he added.

Ken Uher, La Grange police investigator, said he still is investigating the matter but he could not state what was in the letter.

"It didn't put anyone in any danger," Uher said.

The letters were sent to the La Grange police and fire chiefs and one other person in each department.

Ochoa is in jail, but Uher said he does not know whether she has been turned over yet to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Ochoa, 44, of La Grange, pleaded guilty on July 13 to felony aggravated domestic battery and unlawful restraint. She was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $659, according to Tandra Simontom, a spokeswoman for the Cook County States Attorney's office.

The judge also extended an order of protection for the girl and her 9-year-old sister for two years following Ochoa's release from prison, according to media reports.

The case caught readers' hearts at 11:45 p.m., and told police she had escaped from her home on the 100 block of Hillgrove Avenue. The girl told police she had been bound to a pole in the basement for hours with an electrical cord. She told police she knew to come to police for help because of a D.A.R.E. program at her school. 

“This girl is a very brave young lady,” La Grange Police Chief Michael Holub told Patch last year. “She walked six blocks to the station at midnight to find us, and she knew to do that—to come to police for help—because of a D.A.R.E. program in her class. We’re very proud of her.”

The girl told police she was beaten with a kitchen pan and then tied up in the basement by Ochoa, who was the court-appointed guardian of the girl and her 9-year-old sister. After being tied to a pole in the home's basement, Ochoa stuffed a rag in the girl's mouth and left her there for hours without access to food, water or a bathroom. It was never fully known how the girl managed to escape. An examination of the girl revealed she suffered multiple contusions and bruising on her body.

Police took Ochoa into custody on June 27. She was formally indicted on July 13 on 23 charges, including 14 counts of aggravated domestic battery, four counts aggravated battery with intent to commit bodily harm, four counts of child endangerment and one count of unlawful restraint of a child.

Ochoa was appointed the girls' guardian about four years ago after their . Ochoa had moved the girls from Arizona to La Grange in 2010. In July 2011, police were unsuccessful in tracking down the girls' mother.

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