TWO MEN INDICTED FOR DESECRATING JEWISH CEMETERY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the indictment of two Oregon men who are charged with the bias motivated desecration of a Portland Jewish Cemetery.

On October 19, 2004, Sean Andrew Sigley and Steven Hale Smith were indicted in the U.S. District Court in Portland. According the indictment, which was unsealed today, Sigley and Smith conspired to vandalize the Congregation Shaarie Torah Cemetery with anti-Semitic graffiti in order to frighten and intimidate area Jewish residents. Specifically, the indictment alleges that on May 24, 2003, the two men desecrated the cemetery with swastikas and anti-Semitic phrases.

If convicted, each man faces a maximum possible sentence of eleven years in prison. An indictment is an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Portland Police Bureau. It is being jointly prosecuted by attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon.

Prosecuting the perpetrators of bias-motivated crimes remains a top priority of the Justice Department. Since 2001, the Civil Rights Division has charged 126 defendants in 81 cases of bias-motivated crime.

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