'Beyond Disturbing:' Hate Crime Charge For Naperville Student

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville Central High School student has been charged with a hate crime after putting an ad on Craigslist that showed a photo of a black student and read "Slave for Sale," according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Police say the male student made the "slave for sale" post on Craigslist on Nov. 14 and included a racial slur in the post. Police began investigating the incident on Nov. 18 when they "became aware of the incident."

"The allegations against the juvenile in this case are beyond disturbing," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "Hate crimes have no place in our society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County."

Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall also made a statement, calling the incident "despicable."

Marshall said, "This was 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. 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."

The incident comes less than a month after a multi-racial group walked out of Buffalo Wild Wings in Naperville and shared a post that said two employees tried to relocate their party because of a racist customer. The employees were fired from Buffalo Wild Wings after the incident, and the affected customers are currently working with the Rev. Jesse Jackson to help institute a zero-tolerance policy at the nationwide restaurant chain.

In July, a clerk was fired from a Naperville Bucky's gas station after a video showed him telling Latino customers to "go back to their country" and threatening that "ICE will come."

The student was charged with two felony counts of hate crime and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. He is set to appear in court again on Dec. 18.