Former Elmhurst College Student Found Guilty of Hate Crime

Myles Burton, the former Elmhurst College student who last year , an on-campus dormitory, was found guilty of a hate crime May 15.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said Judge George Bakalis found the 21-year-old Libertyville man guilty after a bench trial.

Burton carved "KKK," "Negro" and "I hate black people" into the window ledge at about 11:25 p.m. Dec. 8. According to a Tuesday article in the Chicago Tribune, the dorm was the residence of Elmhurst College's only African-American dorm supervisor. Burton was arrested the next day and Dec. 29.

The Tribune is reporting Burton said he was drunk at the time of the crime and "had a lot of anger built up" over something his basketball coach said. He denied being racist.

A hate crime is a Class 3 Felony. Burton is facing up to five years in prison, or he could get probation. Records show he also was , and the Tribune is reporting that he is facing a DUI charge from an arrest last month in Lake County.

After the December incident, Burton spent several weeks in DuPage County Jail. He had been held on a $50,000 bond, but Bakalis agreed to reduce the bond amount on Jan. 23 to $15,000, and Burton was released.

Burton is scheduled for sentencing June 19.

“I would like to thank Judge Bakalis for sending the message that hate crimes, or targeting someone simply because they are different than you, will not be tolerated,” Berlin said in a prepared statement. He also thanked the Elmhurst Police Department, authorities at Elmhurst College and Assistant State’s Attorneys Todd Fanter and Nicole Wilkes-English.