Stephen Anthony Luke faces Lismore court on fire damage charges

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to carrying out a week-long crime spree which involved setting fire to two churches and stealing money and cars.

A man behind a spate of church-related fires across NSW will soon face sentence in a higher Lismore court.

Stephen Anthony Luke faced Lismore Local Court on Wednesday via videolink and pleaded guilty to carrying out a week-long crime spree across NSW which involved setting fire to Lismore’s St Carthage’s Cathedral and stealing money and cars in September 2020.

According to court documents tendered to Lismore Local Court, police allege Mr Luke threatened a 20-year-old woman in a Sydney car park with a knife before demanding she give him the car keys on September 14.

He then fled the area in her Volkswagen Polo.

Mr Luke also set fire to garden plants and irrigation plumbing pipes at the Hillsong property in Norwest, causing about $2000 worth of damage, and painted a building wall without consent on September 16.

He then travelled to Lismore, where he set fire to St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore on September 18.

Multiple fire crews were called to the cathedral and managed to extinguish the blaze.

FORGIVENESS: Bishop Gregory Homeming said there was nothing to forgive the man who caused a fire which damaged St Carthage's Cathedral Lismore on 18 September 2020. Photo: Alison Paterson

On Wednesday, the court was told a variety of charges were being committed to Lismore District Court for sentence.

This included causing more than $15,000 in property damage from fire, using a weapon to prevent arrest, two counts of assault with intent to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, and causing about $2000 in property damage via fire.

Other matters, including intentionally marking premises without consent, two counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and larceny, were to be included on a 166 certificate.

Three charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception were withdrawn.

Solicitor Katherine Brady asked that the matter be shortly arraigned within two weeks.

However, Director of Public Prosecutions solicitor Tess McQuade asked that the matter proceed on a “usual timetable”

“It is unlikely we will produce an arraignment indictment in the next two weeks,” she said.

Magistrate Jeff Linden consented to Ms McQuade and adjourned the matter for November 8 arraignment in Lismore District Court.

A related apprehended violence order was adjourned until November 23.