Teen gets probation for school threat

A few minutes of Internet fantasy crashed hard into Jeremie Dalin's life Friday.

The 18-year-old from Fox River Grove left the Lake County courthouse in Waukegan with a heavy heart and a long list of obligations to meet for his crime of making a threat against Stevenson High School.

Dalin was convicted in June of falsely making a terrorist threat for a posting he placed on an Internet message board that said, in part, "many will die at Adlai E. Stevenson High School on 10/31."

And although the message was on the Internet for only five to 11 minutes on Oct. 29, it touched off a panic and other events that have left Dalin a felon.

Dennis Oh, 18, a Stevenson student, saw the message, made a copy of it and posted it at other sites, and e-mailed copies to some friends after being told by police not to discuss it.

Lincolnshire police detective Adam Hyde testified Friday that what Oh did sparked a fear so great in the community that the school received more than 500 phone calls the next day from parents concerned about the threat.

Oh, of 1245 Deerfield Parkway, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice in March and was placed on court supervision.

By 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, anti-terrorism experts from the FBI were standing in Dalin's driveway at 209 Bridle Path to begin sending him on the journey that ended with his conviction.

In his statement to the court, Dalin said he has sought consolation through the Internet since moving here from Switzerland three years ago.

He said he found solace there as he struggled to deal with isolation, the difficulty of learning a new language and troubles within his family.

"The only real person that wouldn't judge me, talk back, be angry or mistreat me was the computer," Dalin read from a letter to Associate Judge Christopher Stride. "To me, the Internet was a place where I could vent, cry and swear without anyone judging me."

Both Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Mary Stanton and defense attorney Michael Levinsohn asked Stride to spare Dalin any jail time, and the judge quickly agreed.

Stanton did request a sentence that would impress upon Dalin and others who may be tempted to act in a similar fashion that such an activity was not a joke.

"People have to understand what is going on in this country since Columbine and other scenes where armed people have descended on schools," she said. "We live in a different world now."

Stride said he recognized Dalin's remorse and lack of prior criminal record, but also said Dalin needed to look into the face of what he had done.

"Imagine how those parents felt that day who did not know if their children were safe," he told Dalin. "Parents whose hearts must have been in their throats thinking they had kissed their children goodbye that morning and now might never see them again."

Stride sentenced Dalin to two years on probation and warned him he could face up to 15 years in prison if he violates any conditions.

He also ordered Dalin to write a letter of apology to Stevenson High School, which after it is approved by Dalin's probation officer and the judge, will have to be personally delivered to school officials by Dalin.

Dalin also must complete 300 hours of community service, which Stride said he wants to be concentrated on Dalin sharing his experiences with other students.

Lastly, he ordered Dalin's Internet use be strictly monitored and restricted to web sites approved for education and employment purposes.