Mary Jo Pepin PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A woman who allegedly tried to steal money from a church candle donation box pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Mary Jo Pepin also faces charges for incidents at two Brown County churches, including an alleged theft on Christmas Day.
Pepin, 67, is charged in Outagamie County with attempted theft and bail jumping for a Feb. 5, 2023 incident at St. Pius Church, 500 W. Marquette St. No trial date was set. Pepin returns to court July 30 for a pre-trial conference.
According to the criminal complaint, a woman in the church spotted Pepin and recognized her from coverage of the Brown County church incidents.
“Mary walked into the parish and sat down in a chair. Mary sat in the chair for a short amount of time before getting up and walking over to some candles that had a locked donations box attached nearby. Mary began attempting to retrieve the cash from the box using a slim wood stick used to light the candles. (The witness) observed this and went into the parish where Mary was. (The witness) believes that when Mary saw (her) it spooked her and she left. (The witness) did not think that Mary was able to successfully retrieve any money,” the complaint states.
Pepin told police when she “lit the candle, she advised that a piece of ash got into the box and she was attempting to put the ash out.”
In Brown County, according to the criminal complaint, police responded to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in De Pere at about 5 p.m. Christmas Day 2022. Footprints were found, but no one was found in the building. Security video showed images of the same woman believed to be responsible for trespassing incidents on several other dates. She’s charged with burglary and theft. Pepin also faces a misdemeanor charge, filed in April, for “entry into a building” for a Nov. 12, 2022, incident at St. Philip the Apostle Church. A July 2 trial is scheduled for those incidents.
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