Victoria Mosque Arsonists Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison

HOUSTON - A 26-year-old man convicted of burning the Victoria Islamic Center in January 2017 has been ordered to federal prison for more than 24 years. The verdict was handed down Wednesday by Senior U.S. District Judge John Rainey who said, “this conduct would not be tolerated in our society,” and called crimes likes these “a cancer to our society.”

A federal jury in Victoria returned guilty verdicts July 16, 2018, on all counts as charged against Marq Vincent Perez. They found him responsible for a hate crime in the burning of the Jan. 28, 2017, and for use of a fire to commit a felony. In addition, they found he possessed an unregistered destructive device for an incident that occurred on Jan. 15, 2017.

Three members of the mosque testified that the fire had a detrimental impact on them, their families and the community, and that many were still scared.

“Everyone in this country has the right to worship freely without fear of violence,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This defendant terrorized the Muslim community in Victoria, and the Department partnered with federal, state and local agencies to ensure that the person responsible for this heinous hate crime would be found and prosecuted.”

Members of the mosque testified how they watched from afar as federal, state and local law enforcement officers tried to extinguish the fire, only to see their mosque destroyed.

Testimony at trial detailed how Perez conducted what he described as “recon” by breaking into the mosque a week before he set it on fire.

A witness who was with Perez on the night of the fire described how Perez used a lighter to set papers on fire inside the mosque and how excited Perez was upon seeing the mosque in flames just minutes later. The witness testified that Perez said that he burned down the mosque, because he wanted to “send a message.”

Several witnesses also testified that Perez had an animosity towards Muslims and that he often used anti-Muslim slurs.

Federal agents searched Perez's home and recovered stolen property taken from the mosque the night of the fire in Perez’s home, according to court documents.

Witnesses said that after the destruction of the mosque, the Victoria Islamic Center raised money online from over 20,000 individuals from all over the United States and more than 90 countries to rebuild the mosque.

When Perez learned that the Victoria Muslim community had raised money to rebuild the mosque, he told a witness that he would burn the mosque down again if it was rebuilt.

“Not only was this a dangerous and potentially deadly act, but also one spurred from hate,” said US Attorney Ryan Patrick. “I am glad justice was served in this case.”

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Image: Shutterstock

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com