Prosecutors seek 3 years for man who posted threats about Naperville college
A 23-year-old Wisconsin man promised Friday to never threaten anyone again, like he did when he issued a social media threat to bring a gun to North Central College and shoot anyone who crossed him.
Aden Khan also told a DuPage County judge he's ready to get his life together.
But will that be enough to keep him out of prison?
Judge George Bakalis will decide on March 25 what the sentence will be after Khan was convicted of disorderly conduct in January for a Facebook post threatening to bring a gun to the Naperville school's campus.
Khan's attorney is asking that his client be given probation. DuPage prosecutors want him sentenced to three years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Khan, who was never a student at North Central, created a Facebook page called "North Central Confessions," which became a popular site for students to anonymously gripe about the health center, transportation and other campus issues. While not affiliated with the college, the site was also watched by college staff.
In early March 2013, Khan posted "I bring a gun to school every day. Someday someone is going to ... end up in a bag."
Kimberly Sluis, the college's vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said she contacted campus security officials and Naperville police within minutes of being made aware of the post. College officials also considered locking down the campus.
A brief investigation led law enforcement authorities to Khan's Madison, Wisconsin, apartment.
Khan's attorney, Stephen Richards, argued during Friday's sentencing hearing that Khan has a "dark, twisted sense of humor" and had posted the threat as a joke.
"This is a person of a very troubled background, but he's not a sociopath or a psychopath," Richards said. "He just lashes out by playing mind games over the computer. The proper course of action here is to sentence him to probation and order counseling."
Naperville Detective Richard Wistocki said officers recovered at least eight "tactical" knives, several pellet guns and two large swords from Khan's apartment.
Based on his training as a school resource officer, Wistocki said several of Khan's social media posts had striking similarities to actual school shooters he's studied.
Assistant State's Attorney Ken Tatarelis said Khan's past, which includes a time in 2010 when he narrowly avoided criminal charges after posting "a top 10 people I most want to kill" list on Facebook, warrants a three-year prison sentence.
"This defendant still doesn't get it," Tatarelis told Bakalis.
Bakalis raised questions during the hearing about whether sending Khan to prison would do anything to help his apparent mental health issues.