CHICAGO — Told to express emotion for a creative writing class, high-school senior Allen Lee penned an essay so disturbing to his teacher, school administrators and police that he was charged with disorderly conduct, officials said.

Lee, 18, a straight-A student at Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Ill., was arrested last week near his home and charged with the misdemeanor for an essay police described as violently disturbing but not directed toward any specific person or location.

He was on the verge of realizing a dream to become a Marine after signing enlistment papers this month. But because of the pending criminal charges, Lee's recruiter told him Friday that the Marine Corps has discharged him from his contract, said Sgt. Luis Agostini, spokesman for the Marine Corps Recruiting Station Chicago.

The senior at suburban Cary-Grove High School was charged with two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct after the principal turned his creative writing essay over to police.

"In light of recent events (at Virginia Tech), that is part of the context of what happened that makes the reaction all the more reasonable," said Tom Carroll, first assistant state's attorney in McHenry County.

School officials declined to say whether Lee had any previous disciplinary problems but said he was an excellent student. Authorities said Lee had never been in trouble with the police.

The charge against Lee comes as schools across the country wrestle with how to react in the wake of the killings at Virginia Tech. Bomb threats have caused evacuations; threatening notes have been scrutinized.

The charges are a product of paranoia, following the massacre of 32 students at Virginia Tech by a social outcast who then killed himself, said Lee's lawyer, Thomas Loizzo.

"Once the dust settles, once they look at this through clearer glasses, we think that the state will do the right thing and dismiss the charges," Loizzo said.

The essay, written April 23, reads in part, "Blood, sex and booze. Drugs, drugs, drugs are fun. Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab ... So I had this dream last night where I went into a building, pulled out two P90s and started shooting everyone, then had sex with the dead bodies. Well, not really, but it would be funny if I did."

The teacher told students: "‘Be creative; there will be no judgment and no censorship,'" Loizzo said. "There was never any warning from the teacher that if she determined the paper to be offensive, she would then pass it along to the authorities."

Cary Police Chief Ron Delelio said the charge against Lee was appropriate even though the essay was not published or posted for public viewing. Disorderly conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine, often is filed for such pranks as pulling a fire alarm or dialing 911, he said. But it also can apply when someone's writings disturb an individual, Delelio said.

"I understand what happened recently at Virginia Tech," said Albert Lee. But he added, "I don't see how somebody can get charged by writing in their homework. The teacher asked them to express themselves, and he followed instructions."

Some legal experts said the charges are troubling because they stem from an essay that even police admit contained no direct threats against anyone at the school. A civil rights advocate said the teacher's reaction to an essay shouldn't make it a crime.

"One of the elements is that some sort of disorder or disruption is created," said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. "When something is done in private — when a paper is handed in to a teacher — there isn't a disruption."

Some students at the school rallied behind Lee, organizing a petition drive to have him readmitted. On walls, they posted quotes from the English teacher that encouraged students to express their emotions through writing.

Albert Lee came to the United States from China 30 years ago and has lived in Cary for 16 years. He said his son posted $75 bail and later met with a psychiatrist. The teen was not suspended or expelled but was forced to attend classes elsewhere, his father said.

Seung Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, was from South Korea. Albert Lee would not say whether he thinks the fact that his son is Chinese-American had any bearing on the incident.

During a short interview at his family two-story home in a quiet Cary subdivision near the high school, Lee said he felt administrators did the right thing.

His son hopes to re-enlist in the Marines if the charges are cleared and he's allowed to return to school, said his other attorney, Dane Loizzo.

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