A Darien teenager charged with several felonies was ordered released to home custody Friday but was barred from his high school, which he had allegedly targeted for violence on social media.
After conferring in chambers almost an hour with attorneys and probation staff, DuPage County Judge Michael Wolfe ordered the 16-year-old to be released to the custody of his mother, but the judge placed the youth on a GPS tracker and home detention.
The judge also barred the youth from any noneducational use of the internet and explicitly banned him from Hinsdale South High School in Darien, which he had allegedly threatened to “shoot up” in a social media post in early October.
After seeing that post and another that threatened violence to a fellow student, police went to his home and found several firearms, explosives, knives and Nazi memorabilia, including a uniform, according to authorities. The youth has been in custody since then and is charged with weapons and firearms violations, disorderly conduct and possession of explosives.
The Tribune is not naming the youth because he has been charged as a juvenile.
The judge said in court Friday that the youth has continued to do “exceptional” work in school while in juvenile custody.
“He has been a model detainee,” Wolfe said.
The judge’s order also included a ban on possessing any type of weapon, and he barred the youth from contact with four students who had been involved in the investigation. The youth also should undergo any counseling deemed appropriate by the probation department as he awaits adjudication of his case, Wolfe said.
His school system still has not taken any disciplinary action because, school officials said, it would be premature while the youth remains in custody. Hinsdale Township High School District Superintendent Bruce Law said Friday he would confer with prosecutors and then the school attorneys to see whether the change in the youth’s status would initiate the disciplinary process.
In a previous hearing, the youth’s mother told the judge that she had arranged for her son to take independent classes online while his case moves through the court system.
Wolfe said he wanted to keep a tight rein on the case, so he ordered the youth back to court Nov. 10 for an update.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
