Teen charged with hate crime for posting 'Slave for sale' ad on Craigslist with photo of African American classmate

An Illinois teen has been arrested for a hate crime for allegedly placing a racist ad on Craigslist that included a photo of an African American classmate.

The teen, who is a student at Naperville High School, appeared in court on Wednesday morning on two counts of felony hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct, police said in a news release.

Authorities allege that the student took a photograph of a classmate while at school on Nov. 14 and then posted an ad on Craigslist with the photograph and caption "Slave for sale (Naperville)," police said.

The ad also included an offensive racial slur, officials said.

Police began investigating on Nov. 18 when they became aware of the incident and later identified the juvenile suspect as the person who allegedly posted the ad.

Naperville Chief of Police Robert Marshall described the ad as a "despicable and extremely offensive post."

"Every single person deserves the right to feel safe and welcome in our community, and this department will continue to strive to make that a reality by thoroughly investigating any allegations of hate crimes and bringing those found responsible to justice," Marshall said. "I would like to express my appreciation to our school resource officer and supervisor who conducted a timely, thorough, detailed investigation."

The DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin called the case "beyond disturbing."

"Hate crimes have no place in our society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County. Anyone, regardless of age, accused of such disgraceful actions will be charged accordingly. I would like to thank the Naperville Police Department for their work on this case. I would also like to thank Assistant State’s Attorney Lee Roupas for his efforts on this case," Berlin said.

The teen, whose name and age were not released, is due back in court on Dec. 18.