MADAWASKA, Maine – It is too early to determine if there was any hateful intent behind a church vandalism incident that occurred on Oct. 2, according to Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins.
Madawaska Police arrested Randy Lavoie, 47, of Madawaska, in connection with the incident. Police Chief Jamie Pelletier said the pipe organ in particular received extensive damage and that it will be expensive to repair or replace. Marble walls, plate glass windows, and items in the church sanctuary were also damaged.
Lavoie was charged with burglary and aggravated criminal mischief. Both are Class C felonies.
Church officials estimated that the damage is worth “hundreds of thousands” of dollars. As of Monday, the exact monetary value of the damage is still unclear.
Collins said that, in Maine, there is technically no “hate crime” category, but a court can decide during sentencing if a crime was motivated by a prejudice against a group or individual. Motivators for this include race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation.
“We don’t have a hate crime statute per se,” he said. “If it affects the civil rights of an organization or an individual, then the attorney general can step in under the Maine Civil Rights Act. But that’s not a criminal prosecution, it’s more of an injunction.”
As an example, if someone was found guilty of targeting synagogues and it was determined that there was hateful motive, a court could include an injunction to not allow that person to be within 500 feet of any synagogues across the state.
“It’s just a factor that comes into sentencing,” Collins said. “If the motivation is one based on hate speech or hate acts, the court can consider it.”
But this determination could be more than a year away, as Lavoie has not yet been indicted or arraigned. Collins said felony-level cases can take between a year and 18 months to process.
“If and when we get a conviction, the motive becomes a factor for the court to consider at sentencing,” he said.
Chief Pelletier said earlier this month that he did not believe Lavoie had the intention of harming anyone or endangering anyone associated with the church.
Suzanne Lafreniere, JD, Director of Public Policy at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland said that they are “definitely not” considering this to be a hate crime.
“It’s just bad vandalism,” she said.
Lafreniere said that the church will be back in session before all the damage is repaired. It is still unclear exactly when this will happen.
In the meantime, religious education classes have been moved over to the Knights of Columbus Hall. Regularly scheduled Masses will be taking place at St. David’s Catholic Church in Madawaska.
“All of our celebrations and masses are still going on,” Lafreniere said. “We’re lucky that we have that alternative.”
She said they are grateful for the quick response of law enforcement during the incident, and for St. Thomas Pastor Kent Ouellette’s leadership.
“It’s very sad, but we are incredibly lucky for the community, for the support, for the prayers,” she said. “We rely on God’s mercy and forgiveness, and that’s what we do as people of faith.”
Assistant Editor Paula Brewer contributed to this report.
This story was amended to correct the spelling of the suspect’s name.
