By BI: Iqbal Hessan, 22, (photo below) Mississauga MUSLIM man from Afghanistan is facing several breaking and entering as well as mischief charges in relation to a number of vandalism incidents targeting St. Catherine of Siena church and school in Cooksville. For some reason, the Attorney General has not yet filed hate crime charges against the Muslim perpetrator.

Mississauga  Iqbal Hessan, was arrested early on May 26th, Peel Regional Police confirmed. He has been charged with break, enter and commit indictable offence and five counts of mischief over $5000.  He appears in court today for a bail hearing. The arrest comes after, for the the third time in a week, the St. Catherine of Siena’s church and school community was victimized by a vandal.

After an Anti-Semitic message and drawing was spray painted on the church wall, an exterior wall of the school was spray pained with graffiti and a statue of Jesus was twice defaced and damaged in front of the church —  all of which occurred last week — Peel Police were notified of further damage at the Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Elementary School Monday morning (May 25) caused by graffiti that had been spray painted on an exterior wall of the school.

Last week, graffiti was found on the front and back of the church and offensive statements were also spray-painted on the rear section of a school next door. The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue in front of the church was defaced with black spraypaint.

Peel Regional Police Const. George Tudos said the latest graffiti consisted of of non-threatening diagrams and words. Although police said last week’s incidents were being investigated as hate crimes, police have not laid hate crime related charges in this case.

Peel Sgt. Matt Small said the incident is still being investigated as a “hate crime,” but in order for hate crime charges to be laid, investigators have to receive the consent of the Attorney General.

Back in April, a man broke into the church and stole an amplifier. Father Camillo Lando, pastor of St. Catherine, last week released surveillance video of the break-in in which the suspect rips pages of the Bible, throws them and then steals the electronic amplifier:

https://youtu.be/Z2UQHIxCmYo