A Lafayette man has admitted in federal court to writing racial slurs on two churches to try to pin the crime on his ex-girlfriend.

34-year-old Brian Toriano Crimiel told U.S. District Court Judge Richard Haik that he was the man who put the racial slurs on the two predominantly black churches.

The two churches were defaced in February 2011.  Crimiel, who is black, says he did it to try to frame his ex-girlfriend, who is white.

Crimiel ended up pleading guilty to one count of damage to religious property and one count of making a false statement to police.

The penalties are not too stiff for the damage he did to the two churches as he faces no more than one year in jail, but the sentence for making a false statement means who could get up to five years. His sentence will be handed down at a later time.

The vandalism at St. James Baptist Church happened on February 13th, while the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was vandalized on February 26th.

 

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