NORRISTOWN, Pa. – The 14-year-old boy who revealed he was planning a Columbine-style attack against a high school was sentenced to 7 years in a juvenile treatment facility Dec. 19.
Montgomery County Judge Paul Tressler ruled that Dillon Cossey should remain in juvenile detention until he reaches the age of 21. If the courts decide Cossey has been adequately rehabilitated while at the facility before he becomes of age, he will be released.
Cossey apologized for his plot of assault against Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. Arrested in October, Cossey admitted in juvenile court that he was guilty of three felonies, including criminal solicitation, possession of an instrument of crime and risking a catastrophe.
Authorities do not believe Cossey was close to attacking the high school because he didn’t have the ammunition.
Cossey, who was often picked on, told a friend he planned an attack similar to the 1999 assault on Columbine High School. He tried to recruit his friend saying the world would be better without bullies. Cossey had been home-schooled since the seventh grade as a result of being bullied.
The boy’s mother, Michele Cossey, who is also facing charges of buying weapons for her son, was addressed in court as well. The judge stated she created a “me and mom against the world” mentality in her child.
Frank Cossey, they boy’s father, accepted full responsibility as a parent, saying his soon was a good person but needed help.
