DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man who set a Loveland church on fire was sentenced Tuesday to just over three years in prison on a federal hate crime charge.
A federal judge sentenced Darion Ray Sexton, 22, to serve 39 months in prison.
Sexton said he was motivated to start the fire because of the “religious character of the church” and said he intended to destroy it, according to a release from the U.S. Justice Department. He pleaded guilty to the federal hate crime charge on May 5, 2023.
In the plea agreement documents, Sexton said he intentionally set fire to the Abiding Love Lutheran Church, at 2825 East First St., on the evening of Jan. 19, 2023. He said he threw two Molotov cocktails at the church—one was thrown at the front door and the other at the basement.
Fire crews responded to the building at the time and immediately extinguished the fire at the entrance. The church’s sprinkler system extinguished the other fire.
“Places of worship are critical for our communities, and this office stands ready to protect them,” Cole Finegan, U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, said in the release. “Religious freedom means being free to worship without fear. Our office will take every appropriate action to ensure that every Coloradan enjoys this essential freedom.”
Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said arson is not only destructive but undermines the sense of safety a place of worship cultivates.
“We immediately committed all ATF resources to addressing the impact of this arson by deploying our certified fire investigator, an ATF Task Force Officer with their ATF-trained accelerant detection canine and ATF Laboratory services to analyze fire debris and evidence,” Beavers said in a release. “Early and continued collaboration with our local and federal partners ensured justice once again prevailed.”
Special Agent in Charge Mark D. Michalek of the FBI Denver Field Office said anyone who attacks a house of worship will get the FBI’s full attention.
“This defendant admitted he set out to destroy this church, which was determined to be a federal hate crime,” Michalek said in the release. “In addition to seeking justice for these crimes, the FBI remains committed to providing resources for potential victims, such as the event with faith leaders held in this county the day before the crime occurred.”
