Second CCE Arson Suspect Sentenced
Second suspect finally sentenced for role in 2023 CCE fire
EASTFORD — A second person who was arrested following a series of local fires — including one that destroyed the Congregational Church of Eastford in April 2023 — was finally sentenced nearly three years after the church’s destruction.
In Danielson Superior Court Tuesday, March 31, the second, female suspect — who pled guilty and was convicted of second-degree arson on Oct. 28, 2025 — was sentenced to 20 years of jailtime (with execution to be suspended after 30 months, and probation after five years). This is nearly the same sentence the first, male suspect received back on Sept. 5, 2025, who received a suspension of three years (36 months) instead of 30 months. Both suspects were minors at the time of the incident, and their names have not been made public, even though both have turned 19 since the incident.
In practice, the sentencing for both minors means that despite the 20-year sentence, each will only serve about three years in actual custody, and the remaining 17 years are suspended. That means those years will not be served unless the person violates probation or commits another crime. After being released from those three years in custody, the person must complete five years of probation, under supervision and with conditions (such as regular check-ins, no new offenses, etc.). However, if they violate probation or reoffend, the court can re-impose some or all of that suspended time.
The sentencing truly brings the case of the Congregational Church of Eastford’s destruction to a close. The fire, which occurred on April 23, 2023, only two weeks after Easter Sunday, burned the church, then located at 8 Church Rd., to the ground. Connecticut State Police Troop D, along with the Connecticut State Police Fire & Explosives Investigation Unit (FEIU), Eastern District Major Crimes, and federal agents from the bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, conducted the investigation that led to the arrest of the two then-minors, who were also connected to a similar incident in South Windsor and a break in and small fire at Crystal Pond Park in Woodstock, police said.
On Sept. 8, 2023, the juvenile male was charged with first-degree arson, third-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. On Sept. 27, 2023, the juvenile female was charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit arson, third-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, and first-degree reckless endangerment.
In the three years since the fire, CCE has since purchased land on John Perry Road, and construction continues on a new building, which is planned to open this summer. CCE Pastor Mike Moran, in a written column exclusive to the Communicator back in June 2025, expressed his belief that despite the tragic loss of the building, God has used this situation to bless his congregation.
“Our time without a building has been one of great blessings,” he wrote last June. “Our church family has grown substantially, and we are thriving in every way.”
Moran shared in a public Facebook post in reaction to a story published by WINY Radio on March 31 that he was at the sentencing earlier that day, and was able to share from a victim impact statement that he had previously shared with the court at the first suspect’s sentencing.
“[The statement] enumerated all the losses — the beautiful building, the history, the memories, the grief and anger, a whole bunch of money, the volunteer hours since the fire and so forth,” he wrote. “This is how our statement concluded: 'As followers of Jesus, we understand and firmly believe that we are so loved by our good and great God that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to earth. This Jesus willingly laid down His life for us so that He might pay the penalty for the sins of all humanity such that those who put their trust in Him might be completely and unconditionally forgiven.”
“We know we have been forgiven much and that we are the object of God’s breathtaking love,” he continued. “Accordingly, it is our heart to forgive the perpetrator of these crimes against us just as God in Jesus has forgiven us — completely and unconditionally. We would love to share that face-to-face with [the second suspect]. If not, we request that you do so. Further, we hope you might share with her our love for her and our deep desire for God’s best and greatest blessings for her. We also know that sometimes we must go through difficult passages in this life to receive God’s best. Accordingly, we entrust those matters to the judicial system.’ If this seems alien and weird — it is. The love and mercy of Jesus is beyond imagining. It is why we celebrate Easter.”