BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON -- A judge Wednesday ordered that a teen-ager who had a loaded handgun at Middletown High School be placed in the Butler County Juvenile Rehabilitation Center.
The 15-year-old boy will undergo counseling at the center and will have to stay there until he completes the program. That is expected to take six to eight months.
He was convicted in March of aiding and abetting in the illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon on school premises and possession of a deadly weapon on school grounds. Another boy, 16, brought the gun to school, but the gun was found in the 15-year-old's locker. A third 15-year-old who walked to school with the 16-year-old that day was convicted of an aiding and abetting charge.
That 15-year-old and the 16-year-old were sentenced to the counseling program last week.
The Enquirer is not naming the juveniles because of their ages. The 15-year-old who appeared in court Wednesday told Judge Richard Niehaus he wants to successfully complete the program at the rehabilitation center.
"They are going to keep you busy every hour of the day," Judge Niehaus told the boy. "I look forward to seeing you back here at the program's completion."
Judge Niehaus told the boy that if he is successful in the program, he may be able to turn his life around.
Courts can use the Butler County Rehabilitation Center as an alternative to state juvenile detention facilities.
