Steven James Perkinson, 21, of Plainfield, is heading to federal prison after admitting he defaced a local church sign with satanic-style graffiti. On March 3, 2026, he was sentenced to 10 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to intentional damage to religious property and making a false statement.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana, Perkinson admitted that on Nov. 18, 2024, he vandalized the sign outside Maple Grove Baptist Church. Prosecutors say he spray-painted a pitchfork, the numbers “666,” and an X over the sign’s cross, and later acknowledged he chose the target because it belonged to a Christian church.
When FBI agents first questioned Perkinson, authorities say he flatly denied being involved. That changed after investigators obtained a warrant for his phone. The U.S. Attorney's Office reports that a forensic review turned up searches for local churches and terms tied to occult organizations, along with messages and images that raised flags about violent ideation. Agents also found messages claiming access to firearms, photos of Perkinson posing with recently deceased animals, and evidence that he had set fire to a dumpster.
Online Activity And FBI Probe
WHAS11 reports that Perkinson landed on the FBI’s radar in 2023 after an alarming Instagram post that read, “Now I just sit alone in my room for hours a day… Schools are meant for shooting up not learning.” Investigators used that online threat as a springboard to expand their inquiry, ultimately gathering the evidence that linked him to the Maple Grove Baptist Church vandalism.
Sentence, Prosecution And Response
In a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Wheeler II said, “Targeting any house of worship because of its faith is an attack on the fundamental freedoms that define our nation.” FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley added that “places of worship are meant to be spaces of peace, reflection, and community, not targets of intimidation or hate.”
U.S. District Court Chief Judge James R. Sweeney II imposed the sentence. The U.S. Attorney's Office credited Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter A. Blackett and Carolyn Haney, along with Trial Attorney Briana Clark of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section, for prosecuting the case.
Local Implications
The federal case highlights that targeting a house of worship is not treated as simple property damage. When prosecutors say faith is the reason for the attack, civil-rights laws can come into play alongside vandalism charges. The FBI handled the investigation, and Perkinson’s sentence closes the government’s criminal case in the Maple Grove Baptist incident.
