Man charged with hate crime against boy in Naperville

A Plainfield man faces felony hate crime charges alleging he yelled a racial slur at a 9-year-old boy, pushed him and threw his bicycle Saturday in Naperville, authorities said.

Jeffrey Feigenbaum, 29, of the 15800 block of Cove Circle, is charged with two counts of hate crime and one count each of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct.

DuPage County prosecutors said the charges stem from a disturbance Saturday on the 1400 block of West Jefferson Avenue.

Naperville police called to the scene learned that the boy, who is Black, was building a fort with some friends nearby when a girl, identified as Feigenbaum’s girlfriend’s daughter, damaged it.

After the boy later knocked on the door of the girl’s house, Feigenbaum stepped outside, yelled a racial slur at the boy, pushed him and threw the boy’s bicycle as he ran away, authorities allege.

DuPage prosecutors say it is the second time Feigenbaum has been arrested due to accusations he shouted a racial slur at someone.

In 2023, Feigenbaum pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and received a year of court supervision after authorities said he yelled a racial slur at a Black man at the Apple store in Oak Brook, then yelled at an employee and elbowed him in the abdomen.

A DuPage County judge Sunday refused prosecutors’ request to detain Feigenbaum while his case is pending. Instead, he was released on conditions including he wear a GPS monitor and stay nearly a mile away from the 9-year-old boy, his residence and his school.

Feigenbaum’s next court date is July 13.