Naperville Central High School (School District 203 photo)

DuPage County authorities have charged a male Naperville Central High School student with a hate crime for allegedly placing a racist ad on Craigslist offering for sale an African American student from the same high school.

The unidentified juvenile appeared in Juvenile Court on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 20 in front of Judge Anthony Coco.

Authorities say that on Nov. 14 the the juvenile took a photograph of the victim while at school and then posted an ad on Craigslist with the photograph of the victim accompanied with the caption “Slave for sale (Naperville)” followed by an offensive racial slur.

An investigation into the matter conducted by Naperville Police began on Monday, November 18, when they became aware of the incident. Their investigation ultimately led to the juvenile as the person who allegedly posted the ad.

“The allegations against the juvenile in this case are beyond disturbing,” said State’s Attorney Robert Berlin. “Hate crimes have no place in our society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County. Anyone, regardless of age, accused of such disgraceful actions will be charged accordingly.”

The juvenile has been charged with two counts of Hate Crime (one Class 3 Felony and one Class 4 Felony) and one count of Disorderly Conduct (Class C Misdemeanor). His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18.

“This was a despicable and extremely offensive post that is not at all reflective of the caring, welcoming community that our department serves and protects every day,” said Naperville Chief of Police Robert Marshall in a statement. “Every single person deserves the right to feel safe and welcome in our community, and this department will continue to strive to make that a reality by thoroughly investigating any allegations of hate crimes and bringing those found responsible to justice. I would like to express my appreciation to our school resource officer and supervisor who conducted a timely, thorough, detailed investigation