14-year-old charged with hate crime after listing Black classmate on Craigslist as a ‘slave for sale’

A white Naperville, Illinois teenager is in hot water with police after he posted a picture of his Black classmate on Craigslist and listed him as a “slave for sale,” along with a racial slur.

The 14-year-old, who attends Naperville Central High School, is now being charged with a hate crime and Naperville police chief, Robert Marshall, issued a statement calling the act a “despicable and extremely offensive post that is not at all reflective of the caring, welcoming community that our department serves and protects every day,” according to BuzzFeed News.

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The student was arrested on Nov. 19 on two counts of a felony hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct. He appeared in court on Nov. 20 before Judge Anthony Coco, according to a press release put out by Marshall and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin.

“Every single person deserves the right to feel safe and welcome in our community, and this department will continue to strive to make that a reality by thoroughly investigating any allegations of hate crimes and bringing those found responsible to justice,” Marshall said in the release.

“I would like to express my appreciation to our school resource officer and supervisor who conducted a timely, thorough, detailed investigation.”

Added Berlin: “The allegations against the juvenile in this case are beyond disturbing. Hate crimes have no place in our society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County. Anyone, regardless of age, accused of such disgraceful actions will be charged accordingly.”

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Naperville Central High School Principal Bill Wiesbrook sent an email out to parents about the incident, saying students are “accountable for their behavior” adding that the white student’s post was ‘not reflective’ of the entire school.

The Black victim’s mom spoke to WGN News about the incident but asked to be kept anonymous.

“They used to be friends,” the mom told the station. “They are not anymore. The moment he started teasing my son, calling him dumb, making fun of his skin color, saying ‘shut up slave’ last October,’ ended that,” she said.

Hey @paulkonrad on Fri the principal of NCHS D203 sent out an email (photo) in which he described a craigslist ad posted by a white student of a black student that included a racial slur as a “racially insensitive electronic post”. (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/H2qNOXBzcF

— Claudia (@Claudia_Plans) November 18, 2019