Huntley High School student to be charged with ‘multiple felonies’ tied to racist, threatening messages

A student at Huntley High School is to be charged with “multiple” felonies related to racially motivated and threatening messages that were shared with other students through social media, officials said.

The incident is related to racially motivated messages sent by a single student earlier in the year, but were recirculated last week among students, Huntley Deputy Police Chief Linda Hooten said Wednesday. The school was alerted to the messages April 20, and asked police to step in the next day.

Neither the student nor the charges are being made public because of the student’s age, Hooten said, but the felonies were approved through the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The charges mean the student will go through juvenile court. However, it’s not known what the timeline for that might be, Hooten said. “There are no set timeframes like there are in adult court.”

Since the investigation into the messages began, Huntley High School Principal Marcus Belin has released two messages on the matter.

The ideas that are represented in these posts cause real pain and harm. They are inexcusable and will not be accepted here.

—  Huntley High School Principal Marcus Belin on a series of racist, threatening social media posts shared by students

His first, dated April 21, said the school’s administration received “multiple reports” from the school’s student helpline of racially charged messages and a video containing “racist material, offensive language and a threat to a student’s safety.”

In a follow-up message Sunday, Belin said he is unable to share specific information on the student discipline process. He called the incident “an attack on this culture that we continuously work to create.”

“I also want to tell you that this situation has not only had an impact on me as a Black leader in our district but as a parent of Black students in our district,” Belin said in the message. “As I drop off my kids at school each morning, I expect they will enter a safe learning environment. I expect them to be cared for by their teachers and classmates.”

Attempts to reach District 158 for further comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Hooten said schools typically contain and deal with most incidents – such as a fighter – on their own. It’s only when they feel the incident has reached a criminal level they ask police to step in.

The police have a resource officer who is at the school “all the time,” she said. It’s helped build a rapport between the district and police.

Belin in his April 21 message said there was no active threat to the safety of students or staff at Huntley High School.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, Hooten said.

“This type of behavior has a widespread impact across our school, district and community,” Belin said April 21. “The ideas that are represented in these posts cause real pain and harm. They are inexcusable and will not be accepted here.”