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Man Caught Stealing Church Mission Savings Sentenced
By: Associated Press
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia man caught on video surveillance stealing money being saved for a children’s church mission trip has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
46-year-old Paul Jason Murphy of Huntington was sentenced in Cabell County Circuit Court. A judge also ordered him to complete a treatment program for drug dependency.
According to police, Murphy is a former worker at Christ Temple Church who used a keypad access code to enter the church in Huntington. He was identified on video surveillance taking two ceramic piggy banks containing the children’s savings.
Police said in a criminal complaint that during another break-in, Murphy took tools and other items from the church valued at more than $1,100.
Murphy pleaded guilty to two counts of entry of a building other than a dwelling.