IPFS News Link • Racism
Students in Belleville school bus attack are charged
• St. Louis Post-DispatchThe incident grabbed national headlines and incited a heated debate about race when police said the incident, involving a white victim and black assailants, may have been racially motivated. They later recanted that claim.
The two teenagers—who are 14 and 15 years-old—were charged as juveniles because they are under the age of 17. Illinois law shields the disclosure of their names because they are minors.
Juvenile courts are more informal and private than adult courts. Juvenile court records are not available to the general public.