Kane Co. eyes new alerts on dangerous students

Kane County prosecutors will research a way to inform schools if a student is a crime suspect, a response to a delay in filing rape charges against an Elgin High School student later accused of stabbing his teacher, authorities said.

There could be a method to alert school officials of potentially dangerous students without violating state juvenile privacy laws, Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said.

On Friday, Barsanti, senior staffers and key members of the county's Child Advocacy Center met to try to determine why Angel Facio Jr. was charged with sexual assault offenses roughly five months after the allegations surfaced.

Facio, 16, is accused of attempted murder in the Jan. 18 knife attack on his former family and consumer science teacher, Carolyn Gilbert. Gilbert lost the vision in one eye as a result of the attack.

The Elgin sophomore was in Chicago's juvenile lockup when rape offenses -- which require him to be tried as an adult -- were leveled, accusing him in the sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl.

"When this occurred … he was not known to be a dangerous offender at that time," Barsanti said. "Maybe there's some way we can get some information out."

Barsanti also said the talks with his senior prosecutors likely will lead to an overhaul of the procedures used at the unit assigned to child abuse cases so they mirror the policy for charging major crimes.

When a crime, such as a homicide, takes place, members of the state's attorney's priority prosecution unit review the allegations and several members weigh in on what charges should be filed.

"With this one, that necessarily didn't happen," said Clint Hull, Barsanti's top lieutenant.

It is unclear if Barsanti will discipline any prosecutors as a result of the handling of the Facio investigation.

"I want to think about it some more," he said. "I hesitate to punish bad judgment, because that paralyzes people from making decisions."

Gilbert was attacked while she was alone with Facio in a classroom after an early dismissal from semester exams. A coat was thrown over her head and she was stabbed in the head and neck with a steak knife, police have said.

Facio, of the 600 block of Jefferson Street, is expected to appear in a Kane County courtroom on his sex assault charges before March 12, when a hearing is set to determine if he is tried as an adult in the stabbing case.