Arsonist Pleads Guilty in Des Plaines Shrine Fire

A fire at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Illinois, in 2023, caused significant damage. Virginia Roque Fermin has now pleaded guilty to arson. Surveillance footage clearly shows Fermin setting the fire. "She was captured on surveillance video setting the fire," stated a local news reporter. Fermin received a four-year prison sentence, but with credit for two years already served, she will spend only two more years incarcerated. The incident shocked the community, but the guilty plea brings a measure of closure and allows the community to focus on rebuilding the shrine.