Two boys pleaded guilty to felony arson Wednesday for starting a May 2022 fire that heavily damaged the shuttered Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.
“Well boys, you really screwed up. But what’s done is done. And all we can do is move forward,” DuPage County Judge Anthony Coco told the 17-year-old from Carol Stream and a 15-year-old from Wheaton.
Two other boys — a 15-year-old from Winfield and a 14-year-old from Carol Stream — pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing.
All the youths, who are related, will be sentenced on April 19.
The two guilty of arson face punishment ranging from 18 months of probation to imprisonment in a youth prison until their 21st birthdays. They also will be listed for a decade on a state arson registry.
The two guilty of trespassing could be sentenced to court supervision or up to 30 days in a county juvenile detention center.
The fire destroyed the main lobby, the Bourbon Street hospitality area, and the A, B and E wings of hotel rooms.
The Wheaton boy made videos of the fires and the building burning. He then posted them on Snapchat and TikTok. Another video of the boys lounging at one of their homes included the caption, “After burning down the town, will we have peaceful sleep? Will the firefighters be able to stop it (the fire)?”
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