“Get her!”
That’s what a Naperville parent is alleged to have told her step-daughters as she watched them physically assault a classmate at a bus stop.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Naperville Chief of Police Jason Arres announced that charges have been filed against the parents of two junior high school sisters who allegedly prompted, facilitated and encouraged their daughters to beat a fellow student. The suspects, a 36-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, both of Naperville, are charged with one count of Contributing to the Criminal Delinquency of a Minor, a Class 2 Felony.
It is alleged that on Monday, April 3, 2023, at approximately 7:00 a.m., the victim was walking to her bus stop while being followed by two female juveniles and their stepfather and mother. It is alleged that when the victim walked past her bus stop to the next bus stop, the two juvenile girls and the parents, who were in a vehicle, followed her. Once at the bus stop, the juvenile females attacked the victim, throwing her to the ground and punching her with their fists. While the beating was happening, the stepfather stood by and watched while Thomas got out of her car and encouraged the juveniles to “get her.”
“The allegations that [the suspects] not only brought their daughters to attack a classmate but also encouraged and watched on as the beating took place are disturbing,” Berlin said. “Thankfully, the victim of this attack was not seriously injured. My office takes these allegations very seriously and will prosecute these defendants to the fullest extent of the law. I thank the Naperville Police Department for their work on this very disturbing case.”
“As parents, we have an obligation to teach our children how to appropriately navigate and resolve conflict” Arres said. “Fighting is not the answer, and it’s dismaying to me that two adults would set such a poor example for children by encouraging and abetting this behavior.”
