INDIANA — A man who broke into a Planned Parenthood plead guilty Tuesday in federal court to damaging the property of a reproductive health services with a hatchet because of the services offered there, according to authorities.
Benjamin David Curell, 28, of Ellettsville, Indiana, plead guilty in federal court to one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate violent interference with the lawful work of reproductive health clinics,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting our communities from such violent acts and will continue to aggressively prosecute these acts.”
During the early morning hours on April 11, 2013, Curell broke into the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Bloomington, Indiana and caused extensive damage to the building and its equipment, according to officials.
Curell was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Mark Dinsmore to three years probation, officials said.
Curell was also ordered to pay more than $22,000 in restitution. Curell’s federal sentence is to run concurrently with a sentence he received in state court on a felony burglary charge stemming from the same incident, according to authorities.
At the time of his arrest, officials said Curell admitted to police that he broke into the clinic and damaged equipment with a hatchet because the clinic performed abortion services, and because Curell wanted to shut down the clinic.