Sam Robinson fronts court over arson of the Brethren Church

An arsonist who went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole during Covid torched a Warragul church claiming its members were pedophiles running a cult.

Firefighters battle to contain a fire at the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church caused by Sam Robinson.

A conspiracy theorist spray painted “F--- your God” on the front door of a regional church before torching it after accusing its members of being pedophiles running a cult.

Sam Thomas Robinson, who also lit two fires at his former school a month later because he hated his time there, was jailed for 14 months in the County Court on Thursday for setting fire to Warragul’s Plymouth Brethren Christian Church on September 14, 2023.

Robinson, 25, of Drouin, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of arson and another two of intentional damage.

The fire caused $2m damage to the church — built by volunteers over 18 months— and forced its members to worship at temporary sites.

“Everyone has a right to feel safe in their place of worship, and the arson attack against our church in 2023 was certainly disturbing,” church trustee Phil McAlpin said outside court.

Sam Robinson's arson caused more than $2m worth of damage to the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, built by volunteers.

“The Brethren are not the only church to have to deal with something like this in recent times, but you pick yourself up, are thankful no one was hurt, and start again.

Judge Kevin Doyle said Robinson cut open a fence at the church about 3.40am on September 14, 2023 and using spray paint, wrote “The house up the hill is next” on a section of a fence.

He also sprayed the words “F--- your God” outside the main foyer door before he poured petrol and ignited it.

Robinson went to the Marist-Sion College on three separate occasions in October 2023 and lit fires, including setting alight two rubbish bins. The school was forced to fork out $16,000 to hire security officers.

Judge Doyle said in his police interview, an unrepentant Robinson described the church as a “cult” which should be dismantled and that he probably should not have attacked the college but “they are just breeding kids to be idiots”.

The charred remains of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church after an arson.

He told a psychologist he lit the fires during “copious drug use” and that his friend had told him the former was sexually abused by members of the church.

“You planned to set fire to the church for about a month. At the time of the offence, you thought they were pedophiles and they deserve it,” Judge Doyle said.

Robinson’s father told police that during Covid-19, his son disagreed with the lockdowns and the mandatory vaccination and started researching conspiracy theories.

“It was this type of thinking that led to your offending, seemingly motivated by your grievances against the Brethren Church and your general dissatisfaction with the state of the world,” Judge Doyle said.