Students who threaten schools face penalties

MANSFIELD - Students who make threats against schools could find themselves in prison for a long time, local prosecutors warn.

Most commonly, people who claim that shootings, explosions, fires or other acts of terrorism will take place are charged with inducing panic, according to Brandon Pigg, chief criminal prosecutor in Richland County.

"The potential for that is two to eight years in prison, the same for any felony of the second degree," Pigg said of charges filed against adults.

Children generally not sent through the adult court process, said Joe Snyder, Richland County's juvenile prosecutor. There are some circumstances, though, such as murder, that would allow the court to send minors to the adult side of the courthouse.

Many of those decisions are based on whether the child comprehends his actions, according to Matt Crall, the prosecutor for Crawford County.

"In order to be found criminally liable, a person must be competent to understand the judicial process," Crall said. "The younger the child, the more likely the child is to be found incompetent."

If the juvenile court chooses to keep a child in its jurisdiction, it can only do so until the age of 21, Snyder said, but that's the maximum penalty.

"All juvenile procedures are secretive, so it's never made public what happens to them," Pigg said. "It is a gray area and far more lenient than adult court."

A major factor in deciding what could happen to a child who is facing charges is the extent of the harm caused by their actions. Pigg said the court would consider how many emergency services personnel were called, and how much economic harm the entire process caused.

"When the evacuations occur, the costs that are associated with them add up very quickly," Pigg said.

Those costs include the price of sending teachers and staff home early with pay, how much overtime police and firefighters are paid and the expense of having bomb squads or other specialists arrive on the scene.

"All of those can be considered costs of the inducement of the panic," Pigg said.

Such threats are becoming all to common, Crall said. His office handled four such cases in just one week — the youngest suspect was only 9 years old. There have been numerous others in Richland and other surrounding counties during recent weeks.

"I urge all parents, relatives and guardians to please take the time to discuss the seriousness of this with your children," Crall said. "While we will attempt to hold every person who violates the law accountable, the judicial system is not the only entity who can sanction children. Our schools have done an outstanding job of working with law enforcement to determine what has occurred in these cases. Several of the students have received lengthy suspensions or have been expelled from school."

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