Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 98 (2026)
Schoolhouse or church; defacement or injury
✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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Section 98. Whoever wilfully, intentionally and without right, or wantonly and without cause, destroys, defaces, mars or injures a schoolhouse, church or other building erected or used for purposes of education or religious instruction, or for the general diffusion of knowledge, or an outbuilding, fence, well or appurtenance of such schoolhouse, church or other building, or furniture, apparatus or other property belonging thereto or connected therewith, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 1992–1992 · leading case: Commonwealth v. DiPietro, 604 N.E.2d 1344 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992).
Commonwealth v. DiPietro, 604 N.E.2d 1344 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992). “Further, the ordinary meaning of the statutory language is consistent with the readily ascertainable purpose of the statute: to deter any physical attack of vandalism specifically against religious institutions, schools, and other facilities by increasing the penalties for such…”
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