Nicholas D. Reding was sentenced to community corrections, probation

CROWN POINT (Ind.) CROWN POINT, Ind. — A man from northwest Indiana has been sentenced for breaking into a Hammond Church in 2019 with another man and stealing the sanctuary and its contents.

Last week, a Lake County judge sentenced Nicholas D. Reding (25 years old), Hammond to two years in Community Corrections alternative placement programs, then two years probation.

Reding had pleaded guilty to felony burglary in April 2021 in connection with the May 29, 2019 break-in of Faith United Church of Christ and vandalism, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

Reding’s codefendant Aaron Vanoppens (26 years old), was sentenced to three years in the community Corrections Program.

During the break-in, vandalism, and subsequent destruction, an altar, an organ and restrooms were all damaged.

During Vanoppens’ sentencing, Lake County Chief Prosecutor Patrick Grindlay read an account by a church elder. It described the shock and horror felt by congregation members when they discovered that their worship space was in disarray.

Grindlay stated that relics dating back to the early 1900s had been destroyed and that a vintage organ cannot be replaced.