Monday, August 24, 2026
By Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice on November 14, 2025
Nov. 18 Update: Illya Stepanenko, the 37-year-old man charged with First Degree Trespassing after entering Manteo Elementary School without authorization on Nov. 13, is still in custody and facing two December Court dates.
The Manteo Elementary incident, in which Stepanenko was reported to be inside the school for 44 minutes, generated anger and anxiety among parents, with the Dare County Schools and Sheriff’s Office issuing a statement about the incident on Nov. 14.
Back in October, Stepanenko was arrested in Kitty Hawk, and he faces charges of First Degree Burglary in that case.
In confirming that Stepanenko is still in custody, First Prosecutorial District DA Jeff Cruden said his secured bond on those charges had been raised to $150,000 in order “to afford the court an opportunity to look more closely at the matter and also learn more about the defendant.” Authorities have not disclosed whether Stepanenko, whose address is listed as Belleville, Ontario, is in the U.S. legally.
Stepanenko now has two pending court date next month. The first one, for the Burglary case, is scheduled for Dec. 8 and the one relating to the Trespassing charge is on Dec. 12.
At about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, the Dare County Schools and Dare County Sheriff’s Office issued a joint statement about the individual who made an unauthorized entry into Manteo Elementary School. The man, 37-year-old Illya Stepanenko, has been charged with First Degree Trespassing.
This new statement adds some more detail about Stepanenko’s activities at Manteo Elementary and efforts to secure the school. Here is the information.
On November 13, 2025, at approximately 11:18 a.m., it was reported to school administrators that a man was taking pictures of cars in the school parking lot. The School Resource Officer was immediately contacted, and she confronted the trespasser by 11:20 a.m.
When confronted by the School Resource Officer, the trespasser presented his driver’s license, and his vehicle tag information was collected. It was ultimately determined that the individual had made entry to the school. Given the circumstances and information available to school officials and law enforcement, the school was not locked down or evacuated.
Our information at this time is that the trespasser’s access in the building was limited to part of one hallway. Additional law enforcement officers were consulted, and they secured the school for staff and students. By approximately 2:30 p.m., school officials were alerted that the trespasser had been apprehended and arrested for trespassing. Our latest information is that the trespasser remains in police custody.
The Dare County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a suspect, Illya Stepanenko, has been charged with First Degree Trespassing after a Nov. 13 incident when he entered Manteo Elementary School without checking in at the front office—triggering an investigation.
The Sheriff’s Department reported that Stepanenko, 37, is currently in custody at the Dare County Detention Center with no bond as issued by the Magistrate.
Stepanenko was also arrested on Oct. 18 by the Kitty Hawk Police and charged with First Degree Burglary, according to court records.
Yesterday, a message from the Dare County Schools to Manteo Elementary School families, stated that “following the investigation and video review, it was determined that the individual did not enter any classrooms or student restrooms before exiting the building.”
“As a precaution, additional law enforcement conducted a thorough search of all areas the individual accessed and has since located the trespasser,” the message added. “Dare County Schools will be reviewing our safety and security procedures and providing additional training to ensure all staff are fully aware of protocols for visitors entering our school buildings.”
The Dare County Schools had indicated it was planning to release additional information on Friday, Nov. 14. The Voice will provide an update if it becomes available.
Records concerning Stepanenko’s Felony First Degree Burglary Charge last month in Kitty Hawk allege that he broke into a residence at 4618 N. Virginia Dare Trail with the intent to commit larceny. The address listed for him is in Belleville, Ontario.
Comments
Jay
Kudos to law enforcement and the elementary school staff for stopping IIIya.
It’ll be interesting to read his explanation of the trespass.
Canadian Criminal
He is from Canada in the USA committing crimes. I hope the sheriff’s office has reported him to ICE and will hold him until they can get him deported.
Rhett
Kudos to law enforcement and the staff? They failed our community and children, by allowing this guy to not only enter the elementary school, he was in the building for like 40 minutes and then left, without being detected. They said he spent most the time in the bathrooms, how do we know he didn’t do anything to a kid, how do we know much at this point except that someone dropped the ball keeping our kids safe at school. If he had a weapon, could have been much worse, this county has some major gaps to fill when it comes to student safety and transparency.
Failed Three Times
Rhett is right. Local law enforcement and the school district failed our community; not just once but three times.
[1] Stepanenko was first arrested in Dare County on October 18 and charged with First Degree Burglary. At that point they knew he was from Canada and had committed a crime. They knew he was a criminal alien and they had him in custody. They should have reported him to ICE and held him at the county jail until he was turned over to ICE for deportation. Instead they set him free to commit other crimes in our community.
[2] Then on November 14 he was caught taking pictures of the cars parked at the Manteo elementary school. The cars of the teachers and staff. Why would he be doing that? That is very suspicious in and of itself. He was confronted by the SRO who obtained his Canadian license information, but he was not detained for questioning concerning his suspicious actions or to even run a routine check which would have shown that he had recently been arrested.
[3] It was only later that they determined that he had gained entry into the elementary school filled with hundreds of children. He was inside the school for an unknown period of time and it is unknown what he did while was in the school. There are only a few reasons a 37 year old man illegally gains access to an elementary school. Thank god he was not there to kill as many children and staff as he could. Other reasons are nearly as horrifying. It was not until later in the day that he was apprehended and arrested.
This was a major security failure for both local law enforcement and the school district.
Tom
Where was the school resource officer? Her office is lined with monitors and the school has cameras in every hall and surrounding the outside of the school. How no one saw this guy wandering around the school for an undisclosed amount of time (which due to the cameras they know exactly how long he was in the school) is truly astounding. Her only job is to secure the school and she clearly failed. In addition Dare county sheriff department should not be applauded for their inaction.
Curious
This man, who was arrested on Oct 18 was found to be an illegal. Obviously he was released. He has now, been arrested again. Is Dare a sanctuary county? Is this illegal still incarcerated? If not and he was released, the public should be made aware. I hope the sheriff called ICE.
Scott
If you actually lock up criminals, especially illegal aliens ( which is a crime itself) it’s amazing how effective it is in keeping them from committing more crimes!!!!
Sully52
The public deserves answers regarding this potentially horrible incident.
CorollaCat
Definitely agree there was a major failure. And he’s definitely shady. But do we actually know he’s “illegal”.
Curious
I thought I read he was held under no bond. Now lowered?
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
The DA says it’s been raised to $150,000
Wivenhoe
The millisecond he was suspected of first degree burglary, his immigration status should have been established. Yes, this was a failure of the system in October, then a failure of the schools in November (first, not having a secure perimeter), then a failure of the SRO to pursue an investigation. We know that, generally, SROs are not the cream of the LE crop. And we also know that security experts pretty much agree that the first step to securing a school is to have secure entries and exit. Grade: F.
Curious
Curious and now confused. It was reported that this man, with a Canadian address, was in custody and being held with no bond. That means no amount of money can get him out. Now the DA, says the bond has been raised to $150,000, so if, this man post 150K bond he walks. How is that raising the bond? According to the facts reported in the article, the bond was lowered or am I missing something?
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
The Voice did not report that he was being held on no bond.
Jay
I have to retract my kudos in my first post of these comments. If he spent 44 minutes in the school he could have done so much damage to the children. I hate to think of the lives he could have ruined for ever.
Curious
Now I am really confused. Above in this very article, it is written
“The Sheriff’s Department reported that Stepanenko, 37, is currently in custody at Dare County Detention Center with no bond as issued by the magistrate.”
Mark Jurkowitz | Outer Banks Voice
In an attempt to bring an end to this discussion, I re-checked with the DA who said he is not aware of the suspect ever being held without bond, and court records do not indicate that he was.
I think what we can safely say is that he is now being held under a $150,000 secured bond and he is in custody, with two court dates early in December. He was released after his Oct. 18 Burglary arrest in Kitty Hawk and court records indicate that he did post bond in that case on Oct. 30.
REALLY??
This dude..
This criminal out on bond here in OBX ..awaiting court..here from Canada..? Roamed around undetected inside the SCHOOL for 44 freaking minutes?
C’mon OBX…
Wake up!
Bad things happen in small towns too..not just on the news!
This is bizarre!
It’s dangerous!
Who the hell is monitoring??
Who Let the Dogs Out..
WoW..
Manteo just keeps dropping the ball. Safety out the window!
Creepy guy in the school for 44 minutes..and what about the shooter on the ball field? He is back in the community too…?
Who is running the show Manteo?
CorollaCat
A lot of experts here, Mark. Maybe more knowledge is required before such definitive comments.
But yeah, failure.
Manteo didn't drop the ball
Dogs Out – The school SROs are not Manteo police officers, they are Deputy Sheriffs under the county sheriff. Likewise the ball-field incident was not in the Town of Manteo. It was in unincorporated Dare County also under the jurisdiction of the county sheriff.
That is why the County Sheriff needs to be at the special school safety meeting on the 25th. We need to know why this alien from Canada who was arrested on October 18th and charged with First Degree Burglary was released instead of being held for ICE; and why he was not detained by the SRO at least long enough to do a quick check which would have shown that he had recently been arrested; and only later discovering that he had been in the elementary school for 45 minutes.