



Seven people sporting green and white badges saying "Stop Cruelty to Du Page Deer" stood in the drizzling rain Tuesday outside the Du Page County Forest Preserve headquarters as Steve Hindi, a local animal rights activist, denied charges that he trespassed on forest preserve property last February during a deer kill at the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Darien.

Despite being convicted of trespassing, Hindi insisted he was innocent, saying that another man, Michael Durschmid, was the person taking video pictures of the deer kill.

He accuses the forest preserve arresting officer, Matt Auberle, of falsifying his report and lying on the witness stand at the trial.

"The forest preserve is willing to do anything it takes to make their (deer kill) program happen and people should know that," Hindi said.

Forest preserve officials defend the accuracy of their reports.

"Our officers are trained policemen and Matt Auberle is a fine officer," said Brook McDonald, public affairs manager for the forest preserve. "This is all a bunch of garbage."

Hindi, a Plano resident, won an appeal on his conviction because he was not informed of his right to a jury trial by the presiding judge. He had been fined $350 and ordered to stay at least one mile from Du Page County forest preserves.

"We will let the judge decide if Mr. Hindi was in violation" with his appearance at the forest preserve headquarters Tuesday, McDonald said. "He has been to the forest preserve headquarters three times since he was ordered not to go within a mile of a forest preserve site."

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