Fifty students were charged Wednesday morning after trash was discovered on multiple floors of Mallard Creek High School during an alleged senior prank.
The students, who broke into the school and caused more than $5,000 in damages, were charged with breaking and entering and vandalism.
The incident at Mallard Creek is the latest in a string of destructive pranks at high schools in the Charlotte area.
Two people were arrested last week after a so-called “prank” left behind more than $20,000 in damages to computers and electrical equipment at Sun Valley High School in Union County.
On Tuesday at Burns High, teachers’ personal items were taken from their desks and scattered about their rooms late Thursday, Cleveland County Schools board member Ronnie Grigg told the Observer. Desks were removed from classrooms and piled onto each other, he said, and everything from plants to microwaves ended up in toilets.
Charges filed after supposed senior pranks turn disruptive or worse can end up on students’ criminal records.
When do senior pranks become crimes?
CMPD Sgt. JD Williams, of the Education Outreach and Youth Services Divisions, said students who participate in practical jokes can be charged with a crime the moment they enter a school without permission.
“That is breaking and entering,” Williams said. “Then, once they’re inside the school, whatever damages and mayhem they cause at that point, those are additional charges for damage to property and vandalism.”
Thoughsenior pranks seem to happen every year around the country, most students have the awareness to know that what they’re doing is against the law, Williams said.
“The measures they go through to get into the school and cause the amount of damage that they cause, at some point, they knew that they were wrong,” Williams said. “There’s no getting around that when you’re intentionally destroying property.”
Instead of breaking into a school, Williams suggested students who want to partake in senior pranks should consider doing so at school-sanctioned activities.
“When I was in high school, they would have a senior day where students would get to participate in agreed-upon activities involving water balloon fights and silly string,” said Williams. “That is not causing any damage to the school or potential injuries to the students.”
What happens to students who get pinched for pranks?
In Charlotte, first-time offenders under the age of 18 who are charged with crimes committed during senior pranks are typically enrolled in CMPD’s Youth Diversion Program, Williams said.
CMPD created the program in 2012 to lower the number of juvenile arrests in Mecklenburg County, Williams said. Students who are 18 years of age or older are not eligible for the program.
During the 14-week program, youth participate in eight hours of “interactive life skills workshops designed to address specific areas of concern,” such as decision-making, substance abuse, and theft.
After completing the program, juveniles are not charged with any crimes, meaning they won’t have a juvenile or adult arrest record.
Minors who have already gone through the diversion program or have previous charges can receive a juvenile arrest if they are caught, Williams said.
“People hear the word ‘arrest’ and think that means the child goes to jail,” he added. “After a juvenile arrest is done, the child is released to a parent or guardian.”
Juvenile arrest reports are sent to court, then the child is issued a court date, where they “receive any consequences that are age-appropriate for the crime,” Williams said.