Going against the wishes of the United States Attorney’s Office, a federal magistrate released Timothy Kato, 23, to the custody of his parents Wednesday.

Kato, a former Kishwaukee College student, was arrested Jan. 14 after confessing to sending anthrax hoaxes to two professors at the school. He faces charges of threatening the use of a biological agent.

According to reports, Kato sent the letters as a joke to one professor and to the second because he was upset about his grades.

Kato was in custody awaiting a hearing on March 22, but on Wednesday, Federal Magistrate Michael Mahoney ordered he be released to his mother as long as certain restrictions are met.

As part of the agreement, Kato must seek and maintain employment, confine himself to the northern Illinois area and adhere to a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, said U.S. Attorney John McKenzie. Also, Kato isn’t allowed to have any contact with the two professors he sent letters to, nor is he allowed to enter the Kishwaukee College campus.

The decision to allow Kato’s release wasn’t met with agreement by McKenzie, who said he was hoping for pre-trial detention. He went on to call Kato a “flight risk and a danger to the community.”

It was Kato’s clean criminal past that prompted Mahoney’s decision.

Kato goes to trial March 22 where he could face up to life imprisonment a $250,000 fine.

“Any sentence would be imposed using United States sentencing guidelines,” McKenzie said.