Two parents in Illinois were charged on Tuesday after allegedly encouraging their two daughters to beat up a classmate.
Steven Teague, 36, and Terika Thomas, 30, were both charged with felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.
On April 3 at 7:00 a.m. in Naperville, Illinois, the two female minors and Teague, who is their stepfather, allegedly followed the victim, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.
When the victim walked past the bus stop to the next bus stop, the two girls as well as Teague and Thomas followed her in a vehicle, officials said.
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As the victim reached the bus stop, the juvenile females allegedly attacked her and threw her to the ground while punching her.
According to the state's attorney's office, as the alleged attack was taking place, Thomas got out of the car and told the juveniles to "get her" while Teague watched.
The victim of the attack wasn't seriously injured, according to DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin.
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"The allegations that Steven Teague and Terika Thomas not only brought their daughters to attack a classmate but also encouraged and watched on as the beating took place are disturbing," Berlin said. "Thankfully, the victim of this attack was not seriously injured. My office takes these allegations very seriously and will prosecute these defendants to the fullest extent of the law. I thank the Naperville Police Department for their work on this very disturbing case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Nick Catizone and Alysa Feld for their work on this case."
Naperville Chief of Police Jason Arres said that parents have a duty to help their children navigate conflict, which isn't what happened in the alleged incident.
"As parents, we have an obligation to teach our children how to appropriately navigate and resolve conflict" Arres said. "Fighting is not the answer, and it’s dismaying to me that two adults would set such a poor example for children by encouraging and abetting this behavior."
Teague and Thomas both posted bond, which was set at $40,000, and were released from jail. Both adults will be arraigned in May.
