Junior Brian Maurice and senior Matthew Kabat have been charged with burglary for allegedly stealing a computer, database and network access information among other computer-related technology from Prospect in the late afternoon of Monday, Jan. 23, according to a press release from the Mount Prospect Police Department.
Maurice was found intoxicated at a restaurant on East Northwest Highway with the stolen property in his possession and was admitted to the hospital, according to the press release. The property was confiscated at the time and given to an investigator assigned to the school.
The press release said investigators then looked through security footage from Prospect the following day and saw Maurice and Kabat inside for about one hour when the school was closed.
Maurice and Kabat were arrested, and both “provided statements implicating themselves in the burglary,” according to the press release. They are due to return to court on Feb. 28. When contacted by The Prospector, both declined to comment.
Though technology was stolen, account security was at no time risked.
“Student accounts and staff member accounts were at no time compromised,” Dean Pat Tedaldi-Monti said. “[Maurice and Kabat] didn’t have time to use any of [the items stolen].” 
While student and staff privacy remain unbreached, the students were able to walk into the school at a time when the building was closed.
“We’re going to tighten up our security because there were some doors left open that maybe shouldn’t have been,” Associate Principal for Student Activities Greg Minter said.
To Tedaldi-Monti, the policy regarding doors at Prospect shows how much Prospect staff trusts students.
“[Maurice and Kabat] violated a trust,” Tedaldi-Monti said. “Here at Prospect High School, if you forget your book in your locker, you can come in through one of the doors and go to your locker. We trust everybody.”
Both students, in addition to penalties from Prospect, face burglary charges, a class 1 felony that is punishable by prison time. According to Tedaldi-Monti, the felony is “aggravated,” or made more serious by the involvement of a school, which by nature is intended to be safe for students.
Aside from any penalties they may face from the legal system, Maurice and Kabat will have to face a punishment from the school.
While Tedaldi-Monti wouldn’t discuss the specific case of either student, she plans to take into account the danger posed by the two students to other students, the monetary value of the stolen property and the potential for damage to be done regarding a penalty for each student.
“We try to have the punishment fit the crime,” Tedaldi-Monti said.
Despite the severity of the students’ crime, Tedaldi-Monti sees them as students rather than criminals.
“I like to think they weren’t targeting anyone or anything,” Tedaldi-Monti said. “I know the paper referred to them as ‘men,’ but they’re teenagers, and they made a huge mistake.”