Costilla County Sheriff Gilbert Martinez issued a statement today saying that his office is looking into the desecration of a Catholic shrine in San Luis.
The statement comes a week after pictures surfaced on the Internet showing three young Mormon missionaries mocking the alter at the Chapel of All Saints and one picture showing one of the missionaries holding a head broken off a concrete statue at the Shrine of the Mexican Martyrs.
In a written statement this afternoon, his first on the matter, Martinez said in part: “These incidents are under investigation, with the potential for criminal charges to be filed by the district attorney.
“The Costilla County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an ongoing investigation into these events. At this time, it is known that three males are involved and to what level is yet to be determined. Information will be released by the Costilla County sheriff as the investigation continues.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has officially apologized to the Catholic Sangre de Cristo Parish, which consists of nine churches and about 450 families in the San Luis Valley.
The parish raised the money and cares for the shrine on a butte overlooking the town.
The three missionaries, ages 19 and 20, have not been identified by the LDS church. In addition to criminal charges, if it is proven that they broke the statue in 2006, they face sanctions from their church as well, an LDS spokesman said.
The Sangre de Cristo Parish Council voted 7-0 Sunday to ask the sheriff’s office to investigate the matter as a crime. The parish also has not ruled out seeking civil charges against the three to pay for repairs, a spokesman said.
