A judge found an Ohio pastor guilty of breaching the fire code while the church served as a temporary shelter

A judge in northwestern Ohio found a pastor guilty on criminal charges Tuesday for violating the city fire code when he opened his church to allow homeless people and others to stay inside overnight to avoid the winter chill.

Chris Avell, pastor of Dad’s Place Church in Bryan, may face a $200 fine and up to 60 days in jail if he continues to allow people to stay inside his church at all times without state permission that the building is up to code.

Bryan Municipal Court Judge Kent North’s decision is another step in a legal struggle that began in late 2023 between the church and the city over the church’s legal right to operate as a temporary refuge for homeless individuals and others.

“No pastor in America, including Pastor Avell, should ever be found guilty for simply attempting to assist others and provide temporary shelter,” Jeremy Dys, an attorney defending Avell, told The Associated Press. “Only a seasoned government official would think it is a safer idea to put people in subzero temperatures on the street than allow them to find warmth inside of a church.”

The temperature in Bryan was in the single digits Tuesday, while the Northern Plains and the tip of Maine saw dangerously cold weather.

Judge North postponed the sentence, allowing Dys to appeal, and the attorney stated that he intends to do so.

Last year, police filed 18 criminal charges against Avell, alleging that the rented church building next to a separate homeless shelter on Main Street violated the zoning ordinance, lacked suitable kitchen and wash facilities, and had unsafe exits and inadequate ventilation.

In response, the church filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that the city had “used law enforcement officials to needlessly harass and humiliate the church and its congregants” and was threatening further action to close the church.

According to the city’s website, the decision does not prevent Dad’s Place from operating as a church, but residential operations must cease until suitable building and fire code applications are filed and granted.

“This has been about fire code compliance for public safety,” Bryan Fire Department Chief Douglas Pool explained. “It’s never been about anything as far as religion, and we are appreciative of the court’s findings today to again show that we are trying to protect the public by enforcement of the fire code.”