Justin Casquejo: WTC climber appears in New York court

Justin Casquejo, a daring teenager who sneaked to the top of the US’s tallest building – 1 World Trade Center – will be assessed in a program for youthful offenders, a judge said Wednesday.

Justin Casquejo, 16, appeared before Midtown Community Court Judge Felicia Mennin, who ordered him to return on April 30.

He said nothing during the brief hearing. He and his lawyer declined comment as they rushed out of the building into a taxi.

Justin Casquejo, of Weehawken, New Jersey, is charged with criminal trespass and B.A.S.E. jumping, a reference to his alleged movements around the unfinished building. Both charges are misdemeanors.

He was arrested on March 16 after slipping through a hole in the fence surrounding the 104-story skyscraper at about 4 a.m. and taking an elevator to the spire.

According to court documents, Justin Casquejo “slipped through an opening in the gate that is approximately 4 feet off the ground and approximately 1 square foot in area”.

He used a ladder to reach scaffolding that took him to the sixth floor, Detective Deborah Scheffold said in the documents. Justin Casquejo then took the elevator to the 88th floor, climbed the stairs to the 104th floor and rooftop, then used a ladder again to reach the peak of the antenna.

He said he had plotted on March 15, the eve of the climb, how to enter the building.

“I was walking around all night trying to figure out how I would enter it,” he was quoted as telling a police officer the next morning.

“I know there is no trespassing there,” the youth told the officer.

The 1,776-foot skyscraper is the US’s tallest building. It was built to replace the twin towers destroyed in the September 11 attacks.

Authorities said Justin Casquejo slipped through dressed like a construction worker and took photographs from the top.