Probation in Larkin High School bathroom recording incident
An Elgin teen accused of his cellphone to record another student in a Larkin High School bathroom last year pleaded guilty Wednesday to reduced charges and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Steffon L. Pruitt, 19, of the 500 block of Owasco Avenue, also must have no contact with the victim, perform 100 hours of community service, pay $1,260 in fines and costs, and have an evaluation done by the Kane County Diagnostic Center, according to court records and his defense attorney.
Prosecutors dismissed the most severe charge of disseminating an unauthorized video recording of a person under 18, which is a felony carrying a maximum prison term of seven years.
Pruitt pleaded guilty to attempted unauthorized video recording, a misdemeanor, in a plea deal accepted by Judge John Barsanti.
Jillian Weiss, Kane County assistant public defender, declined to specify the gender of the victim. Weiss said the incident involved only one victim and it was a bad decision by Pruitt, who has since graduated from Larkin and is employed full time.
"This was a youthful indiscretion that my client is extremely remorseful for," Weiss said. "(Prosecutors) are essentially giving him a second chance. This was an isolated incident. He has no criminal record whatsoever."
If Pruitt violates his probation, he can be resentenced to up to a year in jail.