Fenton student indicted on Facebook threat charge

The DuPage County grand jury has indicted a Bensenville teen accused of causing a scare at his high school by posting a bomb threat on Facebook, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Eric M. Stout, 17, of the 800 block of Dolores Drive was indicted Tuesday on one count of felony disorderly conduct. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

Stout was arrested late Feb. 27 after he posted a message on Facebook indicating a bomb was inside Fenton High School in Bensenville, prosecutors said. The alleged threat proved to be false after a bomb squad and canine team found no evidence of explosives inside the building.

Stout bonded out of the county jail earlier this month after Judge Robert Kleeman reduced his bail from $150,000 to $20,000. He must undergo a psychological evaluation, have no Internet access unless it pertains to school, and remain confined his mother’s home unless he’s at school or court, or meeting with his attorney.

School officials have said Stout was a junior in “good standing” at Fenton with no prior disciplinary issues. But prosecutors said his criminal history includes an arson charge from when he was a juvenile.

In the earlier case, authorities said, Stout and several other youths — then in middle school — started a fire by setting paper ablaze inside a home they treated as a “clubhouse” while its owners were away.

Stout is scheduled for arraignment Monday.