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Jesus Statue Stolen from Williamsburg Church Found in Trash and Returned

By Valeria Ricciulli | May 6, 2016 4:44pm
 A statue of Jesus was found in a trash can a few hours after it was stolen from a Williamsburg church Saturday night.
A statue of Jesus was found in a trash can a few hours after it was stolen from a Williamsburg church Saturday night.
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Diocese of Brooklyn

BROOKLYN — A Jesus statue that was stolen from a Williamsburg church on Saturday was found in a trash can and returned Friday, according to the Diocese of Brooklyn.

A man found the statue in a trash can on South Third Street between Berry and Bedford avenues a few hours after it was taken from Saints Peter and Paul Church at 82 S. Second St. around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, according to church spokeswoman Carolyn Erstad.

He then gave it to his mom who kept it until she saw the incident on the news and contacted the church's rectory this morning to return it.

The 100-year-old statue suffered damage to its base and right hand, but an organization has already volunteered to repair it, Erstad said.

“D'Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios, Inc has volunteered to restore the statue as well as donate a bigger, heavier version,” she said. “The larger statue will go outside the rectory in the stolen statue's place, while the recovered statue will go inside the Parish's new church which is expected to be complete in 2019.”

This isn't the first time Saints Peter and Paul Church has been the victim of thieves. In 2012, another Jesus statue was stolen from in front the church’s rectory and a New Jersey family donated the one stolen Saturday to replace it.

Police are still looking for three suspects caught on surveillance video reaching over the fence and grabbing the statue.