Teaneck High School Holds Prom, Allows Alleged Pranksters To Attend
TEANECK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Ball gowns and tuxedos, corsages and boutonnieres -- it's prom night for Teaneck High School, the same school where dozens of students were arrested for an early morning senior prank earlier this month.
As 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis reported, 63 students were rounded up and arrested around 2 a.m. on May 1 after police were tipped off to the prank by a burglar alarm.
The students were initially charged with burglary and criminal mischief. Their futures possibly jeopardized by what many said was an innocent prank.
Many of those same students were all decked out in formal wear Thursday night as the school decided to allow them to attend their senior prom despite finding the school trashed with silly string, desks and chairs overturned, door knobs greased, and alleged urine in the halls.
"Regardless of it being a prank or not, I feel like everybody should go to prom," said senior Shawna Rickette.
"It's a good feeling. It's actually a feeling of freedom," said 18-year-old senior David Jones, who was charged in the prank. "This just gives me and the 62 other students a chance to feel normal again and not criminals and fugitives."
On Wednesday, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said he would downgrade the charges against the students. They will now face disorderly person offenses of criminal trespass and criminal mischief, which will be heard in municipal court.
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