Fox Valley Mall Launches Parental Escort Policy After Massive Fight

After a fight among a massive group of teens shut down the Fox Valley Mall in late December, management at the mall in suburban Aurora has established a new "parental escort policy" in an effort to curb similar incidents in the future.

The new policy will require anyone 18 and under to be accompanied by an adult at least 21 years old and above between the hours of 4 P.M. to close on designated "parental escort policy" (PEP) days. One adult can escort up four young people at a time, according to the mall, and while youths are not required to carry identification, accompanying adults should be prepared to show a form of photo identification upon request.

"The safety of our guests, employees, and tenants at Fox Valley Mall is our top priority," Fox Valley Mall general manager Scott Samson said in a statement. "While we are not able to speak about the mall’s security measures in detail, please know that we work closely with local and national law enforcement on all matters relating to mall safety."

Samson added that the policy will be implemented on "designated days or days with anticipated high volume customer traffic," and there are no scheduled PEP days as of Tuesday.

Eight juveniles from Aurora and North Aurora were charged with various misdemeanors in connection with the fight on Dec. 26, which shut down the mall for about an hour and required the assistance of 75 police officers from at least nine different jurisdictions, authorities said. An Aurora Police sergeant and mall security employee were both battered, police said, though no mall patrons were injured.

A 17-year-old girl was charged with battery and resisting police, according to police. A 15-year-old girl was charged with resisting police and disorderly conduct; and two girls, ages 13 and 15, as well as a 15-year-old boy were charged with battery. Two 14-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl were charged with obstructing police.

"We appreciate the swift action taken by Mall management and will continue to work with them on a daily basis to create the safest environment possible for patrons, employees and businesses," Aurora Police said in a statement about the new policy on Tuesday.