Teen Faces Hate Crime Charges For Putting 'Slave For Sale' Ad On Craigslist

An Illinois teen from the Chicago suburb of Naperville is facing hate crime charges because he allegedly posted a "slave for sale" ad on Craigslist. The 14-year-old student, who has not been identified due to his age, reportedly used a photo of one of his classmates along with racial slurs when he posted the ad online. When word of the ad spread throughout the school, students started laughing at the victim, and one person reportedly told him, “I’ll buy you for a dollar.”

The ad remained online for four days before local authorities became aware of the post. The teen was taken into custody and was charged as a juvenile with two counts of a hate crime, both felonies, and one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

"The allegations against the juvenile in this case are beyond disturbing,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said. “Hate crimes have no place in our society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County.”

The victim's mother, Tamara Wallace, said that the two boys used to be friends, but told WGN-TV that changed when the teen started making racist comments towards her son. 

“They used to be friends. They are not anymore. The moment he started teasing my son, calling him dumb, making fun of his skin color, saying ‘shut up slave’ last October,” the mother said. “They are not friends anymore."

The teen was given an in-school suspension and will have a meeting with the victim and the school's principal to apologize for his actions. 


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