Taunton man arrested for vandalizing church

WESTPORT, Mass. (WHDH) -- A Taunton man accused of vandalizing a Westport church appeared in court Monday.

Police arrested 29-year-old Martin Cutler in connection with a break-in at a Westport Baptist church two weeks ago. He allegedly stole a tabernacle, prayer book, and other religious items.

“It’s just a devastating thing to all of us. We’re really heartbroken,” a church member said.

He faces a long list of charges, including desecration of a place of worship.

Police say Cutler tried poisoning parishioners by urinating in the holy water knowing he has hepatitis C.

“It was unbelievable. Unimaginable to all of us. And again, I can’t stress enough yes, the items were taken…but that isn’t the horror. The horror is the fact that the sacrament was violated,” another church member said.

Many religious items were stolen from the church earlier this month. Several of them have been recovered -- others had been sold to a scrap yard.

Many of the recovered items are now broken. Police expect to make more arrests; they say as many as eight people could be involved.