Hate crime charge dropped in plea deal
Authorities dropped a felony hate crime charge against a 16-year-old Crystal Lake girl Thursday after she admitted to a lesser charge for distributing anti-gay fliers at her high school.
The girl, a student at Crystal Lake South High School, now faces punishment ranging from time in a juvenile detention center to supervision when sentenced next month on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting a peace officer.
Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss an unrelated marijuana possession charge against the girl as part of the plea deal.
Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Robert Windon said it is unlikely prosecutors will ask the judge to incarcerate the girl at her Sept. 19 sentencing. The range of punishment she faces, he added, would be the same had she been found guilty of the felony hate crime charge.
"We treated this case like any other case that came through and made an offer for a negotiated plea," Windon said. "We reduced the charge, but she admitted what she did."
The girl and a 16-year-old female classmate were arrested May 11 outside Crystal Lake South after they were caught placing anti-gay fliers on cars in the school's parking lot.
The fliers, authorities said, showed a photo of a male classmate kissing another boy with an anti-gay message printed underneath. The boy in the photo, authorities said, is a longtime acquaintance of the girls with whom they had a recent falling out.
Both girls fled from police when officers approached them outside the school, leading to the resisting charges.
The second girl, also from Crystal Lake, pleaded guilty to identical charges in June and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
The girl who pleaded guilty today, who is not being identified because of her age, and her mother declined to comment outside court Thursday afternoon.
Their attorney, Hal Stinespring, described the girls' actions as a simple prank gone too far.
"It was something that wasn't malicious," Stinespring said. "She's just a good kid who made a bad mistake and is suffering the consequences of it."
The girl had been scheduled in court Thursday afternoon on a defense motion to dismiss the hate crime charge on the basis that the flier was constitutionally protected free speech. Stinespring said he believes the motion could succeed, but the girl and her mother were no longer up for the fight.
"Our clients thought it was time to go forward with their lives and put this behind them," he said.