Articles labeled: teenager felony hate crime

A 14-year-old student at St. Charles East High School in St. Charles, Illinois has been charged with a felony hate crime after scribbling “disparaging comments” on a black girl’s locker (the boy is white). The twist? The girl is the boy’s ex-girlfriend:

According to the state’s attorney’s office, the boy also drew a stick figure of a person in a noose on his computer. At some point the girl saw it and became alarmed — leading to the hate crime charge, the state’s attorney’s office said.

On Tuesday, a Kane County juvenile court judge ruled that there was no urgent or immediate need to hold the boy in the county’s juvenile jail. The judge also ruled that the boy cannot initiate contact with the girl.

St. Charles East High School is on spring break this week. The judge ruled the boy can return to school, pending any punishment by the school district.

Sounds like a boy who had his heart broken and did some really dumb things. Is a felony charge warranted here?