Four men have been convicted in the case regarding the theft of designer chairs from several churches in the Horsens area. The Court in Horsens delivered suspended and partially suspended prison sentences to the men on Wednesday.

The case involved 78 designer chairs that disappeared from seven churches around Horsens in 2022. All of the men were convicted of burglary at Ørslev Church in Hovedgård, where 22 Kaare Klint church chairs were stolen.

The district court also awarded DKK 15,000 in compensation to several churches and parish councils that experienced burglaries. This amount will cover the deductible the churches would otherwise have to pay.

However, the court did not find sufficient grounds to convict all of the men on the other charges, acquitting them all of one charge related to a burglary at Gangsted Church in Hovedgård, where four Børge Mogensen chairs were stolen. Only one man was convicted of burglary at Hvirring Church, where seven Kaare Klint church chairs were stolen.

Two of the defendants were convicted on three other counts of stealing chairs from Føvling Church, Tolstrup Church, and Hampen Church, while a third was found guilty of only receiving stolen goods. The two convicted of the burglaries were also found guilty of burglary at Hammer Church.

In addition, one of the men stole two heat pumps valued at over DKK 86,000, and another man was involved in stealing one of the heat pumps. One defendant received the longest sentence of one year and two months, with six months to be served, as he was also convicted in other matters. Another received a three-month suspended sentence. The remaining two received combined sentences, which were longer due to previous cases. One was sentenced to one year in prison, with three months to be served, and the other to ten months’ suspended imprisonment with community service.

The convicted men have the option to appeal the court’s decision.