Ryan Krajewski, the 19-year-old Ohio man who pleaded guilty to five felony counts of intimidation for calling bomb threats in to multiple Porter County high schools in January 2023, was sentenced Friday morning by Porter County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer to probation instead of six years in prison.

In a lengthy sentencing hearing that lasted over two-and-a-half hours, Clymer heard victim impact statements from school administrators, a parent and law enforcement.

Valparaiso High School Principal Veronica Tobon spoke first about the morning of Jan. 26, 2023, when her office received a call from the Valparaiso Police Department about a bomb threat against the school.She spoke of the necessity to put the 2,000 students on lockdown at approximately 9:15 a.m. rather than allow a passing period to take place. Threatening calls to Valparaiso HS, Portage High School, Union Township Middle School and the Valparaiso Police Department were received between Jan. 9 and Jan. 26. A separate case is pending in Lake County for alleged threats to Hobart High School also on Jan. 26.

“Because the caller was not getting what he wanted, he kept calling,” Tobon said of the multiple voicemail messages left. “I just hope that the fear of the students and the staff is taken into account.”

Valparaiso Community Schools Superintendent Jim McCall spoke of the selflessness of the staff in searching every nook and cranny of the large school. “We had to enlist the help of our custodial and maintenance staff,” he said. “That is not necessarily in their job description, but that is something that they took on for the greater good.”

McCall himself headed out front to calm frantic parents before the school went into early dismissal at 10:30 a.m. Todd DiCarlo, a seasoned federal law enforcement agent and SWAT member, became one of those frantic parents when his son’s mother called him and said he needed to get to the school.

“The fear in her voice is something that I will never forget,” he testified, his voice breaking.

DiCarlo said the level of chaos that ensues from such threats “could have resulted in a student or staff member being accidentally shot and killed.”

McCall told Clymer he went back into the building to monitor the halls as students left early. “There was a wide range of emotions” among them, he said. “Some unaffected, some eager to leave the schoolhouse, and some emotionally distraught.”

Assistant Chief Mark LaMotte of the VPD told Clymer that for one hour and forty-five minutes, two of the city’s three advanced life support ambulances and one fire engine were parked in front of VHS, “depriving the rest of the city of those resources.”

In closing remarks for the state, Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ryan asked Clymer to sentence Krajewski for three years on each Level 5 felony count consecutively. She spoke of the tone and vulgarity of Krajewski’s messages.

“He’s telling them that, ‘the dead bodies are going to be on your head,’” she said.

“He sees the world that it’s all about him. He sees this as a joke, that it’s no big deal. Nobody got hurt,” she added. “What do you think is going to happen in the future? You have to look at that.”

Clymer said he certainly did look at that. He also considered the aggravating factors of Krajewski’s criminal history predating the Porter County events, as well as the alleged Hobart event. In favor of the defendant were his willingness to plead guilty against his lawyer’s advice and his age.

“I truly do find that the defendant’s youth is a mitigating factor,” Clymer said, adding that Krajewski’s various mental health diagnoses also scare him.

Krajewski’s defense attorney John Vouga had made an impassioned plea for Clymer to consider his youth, the fact that he was 16 at the time of the crimes, and his compliance with court orders and the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center since then. He said locking Krajewski in prison would subject him to violence, trauma, sexual and physical assault, even suicide.

Even “six months is going to be a life sentence for this boy” if he’s imprisoned, he said. “I’m asking you with the greatest intensity. If he goes to jail, he doesn’t have therapy to look forward to. He has survival to worry about.”

Krajewski himself briefly addressed the court. “I want to begin by sincerely apologizing to the court,” he said. “I lacked direction and maturity, but I’ve grown since then.” He spoke of holding a full-time job and being in a stable relationship. “I respectfully ask for forgiveness from those I’ve affected,” he added, his voice cracking.

Terms of Krajewski’s probation, per the sentencing order, include 90 days of home detention; continued mental health treatment; and following court-imposed internet restrictions. He is also to complete 250 hours of community service, not near a school.

Clymer said Krajewski’s cooperation with court orders has led him to believe he does not pose a risk of reoffending. “If I thought that you did, you’d be going to prison this afternoon,” he told him.

“I don’t want you to go to prison. Prison is a dangerous place, but if you violate this probation, that is where you will go. You are an adult.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.