RUTHERFORD COUNTY MAN SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN ASHEVILLE IN CONNECTION WITH CROSS BURNING INCIDENT
Defendant to Serve More Than Two Years in Federal Prison

ASHEVILLE, NC - Curtis Gene Worley, 51, of Spindale, North Carolina, was sentenced Wednesday to serve 28 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert and FBI Special Agent in Charge Nathan T. Gray, announced. Worley was indicted in October 2007 on one count alleging use of fire to injure, intimidate, and interfere with rights to occupy a dwelling because of race or color. The offense occurred on September 25, 2007, in Ellenboro (Rutherford County), North Carolina. Worley pled guilty to the charge.

According to information presented in open court during the hearings, which were held in U.S. District Court in Asheville, Worley built and burned a cross on or near the property occupied by his neighbor, an adult African American female. Worley has been in federal custody since January 3, 2008.

The sentence was handed down Wednesday, November 19 by U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg. The case was investigated and presented for federal prosecution by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rutherford County North Carolina Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Smith of the Charlotte U.S. Attorney’s Office handled the prosecution for the government.

Terms of federal imprisonment are served without the possibility of parole.