DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin and Wheaton Chief of Police William Murphy announced that a male Edison Middle School student has been charged with sending two emails to staff at the school containing threats of violence. The juvenile appeared in Juvenile Court this morning where Judge Michael Wolfe ordered the juvenile be placed on home detention.
On Dec. 11, 2018, school staff received an email allegedly from the student warning of violence to come at the school. The email allegedly stated in part “YOU COULD SHOW THIS YOUR CLASS IT WILL START AT 8:20 GET READY IM GONNA HURT KIDS AT SCHOOL.” The recipients of the email immediately contacted school authorities who in turn contacted the Wheaton Police Department. An investigation into the matter led to the juvenile as the person who allegedly sent the threatening emails.
“As I have said in the past, school safety continues to be a top priority of my administration," Berlin said. "School threats are not funny and anyone found to have made such a threat will be charged accordingly. I would like to thank the Wheaton Police Department for their work in quickly identifying the suspect in this case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Lindt for her efforts on this case.”
“The threat was received after school hours and successfully resolved before the beginning of the next school day, this was possible in part to the collaborative efforts of the police department and the school district,” Murphy said.
The juvenile has been charged with two counts of False Report of a Threat to a School, a Class 4 Felony. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2019.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the juvenile’s guilt. The juvenile is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.