Fox Valley man sentenced for clinic fire

GREEN BAY - The man convicted of starting a small fire at a Planned Parenthood building in Grand Chute will spend more than a decade behind bars.

A federal judge sentenced Francis Grady to eleven years in prison Thursday afternoon.

Grady was convicted in the arson case last summer. He said he used a hammer to break a window at the clinic, then poured gas from a plastic bottle and used a lighter to ignite the fire.

The normally boisterous man said only a few words after court Thursday afternoon, saying the sentence was "too much."

Cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom.

Before sentencing, Grady apologized to employees at Planned Parenthood. Grady said voices of children in his head told him to start the fire. Abortions are performed at that facility.

Prosecutors felt the sentence was fair.

“It was a bit of an unusual case, but we march on and on to the next case. I hope Mr. Grady is able to effectively serve his prison time and stay on the straight and narrow and hopefully this is a good wake up call for him that his conduct will not be tolerated,” said Bill Roach, prosecutor.

Grady's defense attorney argued for a lesser sentence, citing Grady's history of alcohol abuse and mental illness.

Grady's family hopes he will receive treatment while behind bars.

“I just hope he gets help in that time, during his sentence. I think it's a fair sentence, maybe a couple years higher than I thought it would be,” said Anne Hoffmann, Grady’s sister.

One Planned Parenthood employee told the judge she felt the incident was an act of terrorism and there is no justification for any violence against Planned Parenthood clinics. She wanted the maximum sentence of 21 years.

That did not sit well with Grady's sister.

"Don't call someone a terrorist when they're mentally ill," explained Hoffmann.

Grady's attorney did not comment after court.

Grady told FOX 11 after court he plans to appeal. The judge says Grady and his attorney has two weeks to do so.