Student charged for 2nd time with attack at school
BY BILL BIRD wbird@stmedianetwork.com February 12, 2013 11:26AM
Kyle Rhoden, 19, of Montgomery, refused to let counselors at The Camelot School in the 1200 block of Bond Street in Naperville check his possessions when a metal detector alerted them there was something in one of his socks, according to a police report. Camelot is an alternative high school.
Updated: March 14, 2013 6:27AM
For the second time in less than a year, a Montgomery man has been charged with attacking a staff member of a private school on Naperville’s northwest side.
Kyle A. Rhoden is a student at Camelot of Naperville, at 1220 Bond St. just west of the city’s Brookdale neighborhood. He faces trial on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault following the latest incident there.
Rhoden, 19, is also expected to stand trial for allegedly attacking another Camelot staff member nearly a year ago to the day.
Naperville police arrested Rhoden about 8:45 a.m. Monday after he allegedly fought with counselors at the school, which serves students with “special needs,” according to the Camelot Schools LLC website.
A written police report stated Rhoden refused to allow the counselors to search him or his property, after a metal detector sounded and indicated a foreign object was hidden inside one of his socks.
“Rhoden then threw a punch at a counselor” that missed its mark, the report read in part. Police were called to the scene and Rhoden was arrested a short time later, according to the report.
The object in Rhoden’s sock proved to be a cell phone, police Sgt. Steve Schindlbeck said Tuesday. Schindlbeck said students are “not allowed to have cell phones at school.”
Police were also called to the campus last Feb. 23, after Rhoden allegedly struck a staff member. He is charged in that case with a felony count of aggravated battery of a school employee and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
Kirk Dorn, spokesman for Camelot Schools LLC, said Tuesday night via e-mail that “Camelot of Naperville serves students with extraordinary needs ranging from cognitive and emotional disabilities to autism and other health impairments.”
“Because of our structure and professional training, our staff was able to quickly handle this situation at the morning entrance and ensure that no students were ever in danger,” Dorn wrote. “There was no weapon involved.”
“This incident is especially unfortunate considering the student has made great progress and was changing his life for the better with us,” Dorn said of Rhoden.
Rhoden is free on bond and scheduled to appear Feb. 25 in DuPage County Circuit Court in the aggravated battery case. An arraignment date on the most recent charge is pending.
Susan Frick Carlman contributed to this report.
