Baby Jesus statue stolen from Nativity at Hauppauge building returned
The statue was taken earlier this week from the display that is donated each year by St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Farmingville.
The baby Jesus statue that was stolen from a Nativity display in Hauppauge was returned, Suffolk County officials said on Saturday.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and Suffolk County Police Department Commissioner Kevin Catalina announced in a statement, "The Baby Jesus statue that was reported stolen from a Nativity scene outside the H. Lee Dennison Building has been returned following yesterday’s announcement."
Police added that it thanked the public for its assistance in the search for the statue.
The statue was taken earlier this week from the display that is donated each year by St. Michael the Archangel Chapel in Farmingville.
On Friday, county officials asked the public for help finding the statue. Police also brought in K-9s to help with the search since the crime was discovered on Thursday.
“It almost seems, in a way, that the theft is trivial in nature, but it is an affront to Christianity,” Catalina said. “As a result of that, it certainly means something to us.”
Police hoped that this was a prank, but they did not rule out the possibility that it could be a hate crime.
“There is one thing that we want to emphasize to all the residents of Suffolk County,” Romaine said. “We are a county that emphasizes tolerance and acceptance of all religions.”
It was not immediately clear who returned the statue or if any arrests had been made as of Saturday afternoon.
