http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/ ... 17057.htmlSurvival camp for student
By LAURIE MASON
Bucks County Courier Times
Ticking off a list of labels assigned to 17-year-old Travis Biehn, anti-American terrorist among them, Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Biehn seemed to implode on the bench.
"Let's talk about what this case is really about," said the visibly annoyed judge - no relation to the juvenile - during a tense hearing Wednesday in Bucks County court in Doylestown. "This case is all about a kid who was never held accountable."
Biehn of Buckingham will likely learn accountability and other skills next month as he embarks on a 31-day court-ordered wilderness survival program.
The sentence, which will be followed by community service, therapy and probation, is punishment for a bomb threat the Central Bucks High School East student scrawled on a school bathroom wall as well as charges stemming from a cache of potentially explosive chemicals subsequently found in his bedroom.
The June 1 incident forced the evacuation of the high school as police and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the building. The teen and his parents have yet to speak publicly about the charges, and have been called "aloof" and "uncooperative" by prosecutors.
Biehn was found delinquent of the charges last month and has been locked in the county's juvenile detention center even since.
At his disposition hearing Wednesday - the juvenile court equivalent of a sentencing - the judge chided both the teen, his parents and, to a lesser extent, the Central Bucks School District.
Had Travis Biehn received more than just a slap on the wrist for his earlier brushes with the law, which included making homemade napalm, shooting paintballs at cars and hacking into the school computer system, he may have learned his lesson, the judge said.
Yet his parents continued to look the other way, the judge said, allowing the apparently intelligent student to slide by with D grades in some subjects and act disrespectfully. He was even permitted to wear an offensive T-shirt to school with the logo "Jesus is a Homo," without getting into trouble.
"As a result of this overprotection, the juvenile did not learn that what he did was wrong," Judge Biehn said. "Perhaps if the parents, the school, and others had held Travis accountable, if they would have set some limits, perhaps we wouldn't be here."
Sitting with his attorney, William Goldman Jr., the stoic dark-haired teen nodded occasionally at the judge's words, but did not answer questions. In the courtroom audience behind him, his parents and about two-dozen supporters also remained silent.
But court records show that Brant and Annette Biehn have been busily working behind the scenes to steer their son's defense. They hired a psychologist - one of four who submitted reports in the case, court records show - and found an alternate wilderness program for their attorney to suggest to the judge.
Instead of the Boiling Springs, Pa.-based Tressler Care program, which is populated solely by juvenile delinquents, the Biehns wanted their son sent to Outward Bound, a North Carolina outfit with a more varied mix of participants.
The judge refused.
Court officials also noted that Brant Biehn brought his son several books to read during his stay in juvenile lockup, including two suspense novels dealing with chemical warfare and an anthrax attack by a disgruntled scientist.
Judge Biehn shook his head in apparent disbelief while reading from the report.
"I hope your parents learn from this," he told the teen.
During his stay at Tressler, Biehn will live in primitive cabins with other juvenile defendants. He will spend at least five hours a day in an educational or counseling setting, and the remainder doing chores.
At the end of the month, he will be brought back before the judge, who will determine if Biehn successfully completed the program.
If he did, the teen will then begin serving probation, during which he'll complete 100 hours of community service with Habitat for Humanity, write letters of apology and watch a film about victims of chemical burns. More counseling will follow, and the teen will not be allowed to have a computer in his room.
Biehn's parents must also pay about $8,000 in restitution, to cover the cost of the police search and added security at the school.
If he does not do what he's supposed to at Tressler, Biehn will go back to a juvenile detention center at the end of August.
Juvenile Court officials also suggested that the teen be required to correspond with American soldiers serving in Iraq as part of his sentence. The judge did not impose that, saying that despite news accounts in the United States and Canada, he didn't see any evidence that Biehn's actions were fueled by anti-American sentiments.
Biehn is a native of Newfoundland, Canada. He came to this country with his family in 1997, when his father took a job with Merck, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical firm with a plant in Montgomery County.
No matter what the outcome of his juvenile sentence, Biehn will not be returning to the Central Bucks School District. Goldman said the Biehns plan to make arrangements for him to finish up his schooling in Canada.
Goldman would not say if he would appeal, but court records show that he filed a motion last week asking for the judge to reconsider.
Goldman said he was pleased with the sentence and reiterated claims that Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons was using his client's case as a stepping stone to get re-elected.
"In the thousands of e-mails police found there is not one reference to terrorism by my client. This case was blown out of proportion early on," he said.
Gibbons countered that it was the Canadian press, not her, that used the word terrorist. She said she hoped this would be the last time law enforcement would have to deal with Travis Biehn.
"This young man is headed for trouble. If his behavior is not altered, it will become violent,'' Gibbons said.
As the hearing closed, Judge Biehn urged the teen to make the most of the wilderness program.
"You got to do the right thing. You're a good kid," the judge said. "But someone has to let you know that you're not going to get through life unless you deal with your inadequacies. Good luck, Travis. I hope you can handle this."
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This is a battle of ideologies. The court is insisting the parents are raising their child incorrectly. The parents offer Outward Bound as a better alternative adn are refused. This is a district attorney trying to get votes off a case blown out of proportion. It's the 'tough on crime' bullshit, again. The kid scrawled graffiti in a restroom; big deal. Make him wash it off.
