A Missouri man who was convicted for the 2021 arson of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints church has been sentenced to more than nine years in prison.
In December, Christopher Scott Pritchard, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of arson and one count of violating the Church Arson Prevention Act, according to a Department of Justice news release.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp sentenced Pritchard to 111 months in prison.
Pritchard was also ordered to pay the church $6,968,223.36 to cover the cost of the damages inflicted on the church.
The church was destroyed by fire on April 28, 2021.
The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office later arrested Pritchard, who not only smelled like smoke but had various items from the church in his possession.
At the time, Pritchard said he had had an argument with the church’s bishop and threatened to assault the bishop and also burn down the church.
“There is no place in America for criminal acts against houses of worship,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.
“The Civil Rights Division thanks its law enforcement partners for prosecuting this matter.”
In 2022, as members of the church looked back, they said the fire destroyed their building, but not their church, according to The Church News.
“We stood in the parking lot and watched the church burn, and there were a lot of tears,” said Bishop John Fulton, bishop of the Cape Girardeau Ward.
“Even the neighborhood came and said what a great influence the church had been on them.”
“The building really meant a lot to many of the neighbors,” Cape Girardeau Stake President Kevin Dickson said then. “It was really important to them that the building was there. They felt a connection to it, even though they weren’t members.”
Dickson and Fulton noted that the fire led to an increase in the commitment of church members.
“People are coming to church, and they are digging in and working and getting involved,” Fulton said.
“It’s been exactly what you would expect from people who are recovering from challenges. They are redoubling their efforts and want to make a difference.”
“Had it not been for the fire, they would not have been back at church,” Dickson said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
The post DOJ Hands Prison Time to Man Convicted of Heinous Church Attack – Is It Enough? appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.