A 19-year-old Maryland girl has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to planning to bomb her former high school.
Nicole Cevario, 19, of Thurmont, was sentenced this week after entering a guilty plea on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Police learned of the plot after her father read her diary and called Catoctin High School.
On that March day, Cevario was quickly pulled out of classes and taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation.
Sheriff Charles A. Jenkins said the threats outlined in the diary were real.
Cevario outlined plans in the diary to become “the first real female school shooter” and amassed materials to make explosives including nails, matches, fuses, and pipes with attached caps.
There was also a receipt for a Remington 879 shotgun in the diary.
In her diary, Cevario focused on the mistakes she felt the shooters at Columbine, Colorado, and Newtown made, the sheriff said.
Only offenders under the age of 21 are eligible to enter the facility. Offenders must also have an intellectual impairment or emotional imbalance and be receptive to being in the program.
“It was clear from the beginning of this case that Cevario is in serious need of psychiatric help. Our office worked tirelessly to find her help at any private or public institution. Unfortunately, outside of criminal defendants being sentenced to Putuxent [sic] Institution, no such help exists in our legal system,” the statement read.
“We are proud of Nicole for her decision to take a lengthy sentence which includes treatment, when she could have taken a lighter sentence with no mental health treatment. We have no doubt that she is committed to that treatment,” it continued.
“We were very happy it was such a substantial amount of years,” Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith added to the News-Post. “She obviously has something wrong with her, and she shouldn’t be out in the public while she deals with it.”
After her release from prison, Cevario will be on supervised probation for five years.
