Sentencing postponed for arsonist who set Surrey, B.C. church ablaze last year

Sentencing has been postponed for a woman who set a church ablaze in Surrey, B.C. last year.

Kathleen Panek, 35, appeared by video in B.C. Provincial Court on Thursday, where a judge a decided she needed more time to review the evidence before making a sentencing decision.

Panek has pleaded guilty to two counts of arson in relation to the July 19, 2021 burning of the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey’s Whalley neighbourhood.

1:58 Surrey church destroyed in a suspicious fire

The Crown is seeking consecutive sentences of two years for each count — four years altogether — minus time already served behind bars.

Panek’s defence lawyers are asking for a sentence between 18 months and two years, arguing their client has admitted guilt, apologized in court and shown remorse.

Panek has been in custody since her arrest on Aug. 26, 2021.

The church’s congregation of about 300 families has been displaced since the fire, which destroyed much of the building’s structure.

Security footage shows Panek lighting the church’s front door decorations on fire four days before the massive blaze, according to a statement of facts read in court by Crown prosecutor Mike Fortino.

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According to the statement, Panek — while under the influence of drugs — also wandered into Whalley’s Sunshine Housing Co-op on March 15, 2021, and set fire to cardboard boxes outside a unit.

Those affected by the fires told Global News on Thursday that reaching the sentencing stage brings each of them closer to “closure.”

1:58 Surrey church destroyed in a suspicious fire

“We’re thankful that this chapter of this traumatic experience is coming to an end and there is closure with regards to the fire itself,” said Steven Faltas, a board member at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church.

“At the same time, it’s only the beginning to our journey rebuilding and hopefully one day having a home where we can worship again.”

Faltas said the fire has divided the church’s congregation as some families seek other places of worship while St. George’s services are temporarily held in a local community centre.

Only a fraction of the weddings, baptisms, funerals, engagements, senior’s special liturgies, and other regular activities of the church have been possible at that community centre, he added.

“We’re without a home and we’re still searching and trying to build. It makes no difference whether there’s a reason or not behind her crime and her hate,” he said.

Lorraine Dubuc, whose family was displaced from the housing co-op fire on March 15, said she had not given any thought to the length of time Panek should serve.

She attended court Thursday on behalf of the co-op residents.

“It’s part of closure, it’s being able to report it to the 39 families that live in our community,” she told Global News. “Nobody with a conscious, nobody with a heart would do something like that.”

Had she not been awake when the fire was lit outside her bedroom that night, Dubuc said she would have died. At least one other family was displaced by the fire, she added.

“I think the toll was a community of 39 people — families — and you lose that security. That’s what happens.”

0:46 Surveillance video captures woman starting fire on Surrey church door

The Crown told the court Thursday that after her arrest, Panek admitted to lighting both church fires while upset due to a fight with her boyfriend.

Her lawyers disputed that, arguing Panek was under the influence of meth and heroin.

No evidence was presented in court to suggest the burnings were a hate crime.

The judge has asked for a sentencing date to be set at the end of March or in early April as she reviews the case further.

Faltas, meanwhile, said he will be “praying for Panek to be forgiven,” describing the arson as an instance of “poor judgement from an individual who needs some help.”

“The length of the sentence really doesn’t change the outcome to the congregation,” he said. “As a community and a Christian-based faith group we practice and preach forgiveness.”