Danbury Prison Escape Leads To Charges, Federal Officials Say

DANBURY, CT — A Chinese national who was serving a federal prison sentence for setting fire to a church in Alabama has been charged with escaping from custody, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in New Haven indicted Xiaoquin Yan, 31, a citizen of China.

On Dec. 10, 2024, Yan escaped from the Federal Satellite Low facility at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. She was apprehended the same day.

At the time, she was serving a 102-month prison sentence for arson and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, federal prosecutors said. Yan had been sentenced in federal court in Alabama in 2024.

The arson charge stemmed from a September 2021 fire at a church in Montgomery, Alabama, prosecutors said. Yan was accused of entering the church and igniting multiple fires, causing “significant damage” to the building, according to the government.

If convicted of the new escape from custody charge, Yan could face up to five more years of imprisonment.