DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Naperville Chief of Police Jason Arres have announced that a Plainfield man has been charged with yelling a racial slur at a nine-year-old boy, pushing him and then throwing his bike.
Jeffrey Feigenbaum, 29, appeared in First Appearance Court and was charged with two counts of a hate crime (Class 4 felony) and one count each of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct. The court denied the state’s motion to detain Feigenbaum pre-trial and he was released from custody with conditions including that he be outfitted with a GPS monitoring device, remain at least 5,000 feet away from the victim, his residence and his school and that he surrender all firearms, firearm ammunition or other dangerous weapons to the Naperville Police Department.
On June 13, Naperville police officers responded to a disturbance in the area of 1400 W. Jefferson Avenue, regarding a white adult male pushing a black juvenile and calling him the N-word. Following an investigation into the matter, it is alleged that the victim, a nine-year-old boy, and some friends were building a fort down the street and that a girl, later identified as Feigenbaum’s girlfriend’s daughter, had damaged the fort.
It is alleged that the victim went to the girl’s residence on W. Jefferson Avenue and knocked on the door. It is further alleged that Feigenbaum exited the residence, yelled a racial slur at the boy, pushed him and then threw the victim’s bike as the he ran away.
“The allegations against Mr. Feigenbaum are very disturbing,” Berlin said. “Hate crimes have no place in a civilized society. DuPage County is comprised of dozens of extremely welcoming and diverse communities and the type of behavior alleged in this case will not be tolerated.”
“Every person in our community has the right to live free from intimidation, violence, and hate. Conduct involving threats, physical aggression, and racial slurs directed at a child is completely unacceptable and stands in direct opposition to the values we expect and uphold in Naperville,” Arres said.”
Feigenbaum’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 13 in front of Judge Daniel Guerin.
