Two teenagers have been charged with spray-painting a Nazi symbol and profanities on a home on Jameco Mill Road in Scarborough this month.
A 16-year-old Windham girl and a 17-year-old Old Orchard Beach boy have each been summoned on a charge of aggravated criminal mischief, a Class C felony, according to a news release from the Scarborough Police Department.
The pair allegedly spray-painted a red and white swastika and profanities on the home’s driveway and on a garage door during the night of April 3. Police do not consider their actions to be hate crimes, according to the release, issued Wednesday.
The police did not identify the pair because they are juveniles. Police Chief Robby Moulton said the girl is a student at Scarborough High School while the boy is a student at the Greater Portland Christian School in South Portland.
“The investigation uncovered that the residence was targeted and the crime was not hate-biased.The incident was not a random act,” police said in the statement.
Moulton said the teenagers drew the swastika for its dramatic effect and not as a hate symbol targeting an individual or family for their beliefs.
“Obviously, the swastika is clearly a symbol of anti-Semitism,” Moulton said. “But, what we found during our investigation is that they were drawn more to be provocative than anything else.”
Scarborough police are also alleging that the teens spray-painted graffiti on a town-owned concession building at Wiley Field on Tenney Lane.
According to police, the same house on Jameco Mill Road was egged on April 2 by two young males in a silver-colored sedan. A vehicle matching that description was also seen the night before on Coulthard Farms Road where another home was egged.
The pair are scheduled to be arraigned in Cumberland County District Court on May 26.
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