Del. Man sentenced to probation after stealing part of ancient statue – NBC10 Philadelphia

A Delaware man was sentenced to five years probation Wednesday after breaking off the finger of an ancient statue at a Philadelphia museum.

According to an affidavit, on December 21, 2017, Michael Rohana, then 24, attended an ugly Christmas party at the Franklin Institute and had entered the Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit closed.

Rohana had taken photos while posing next to a statue called “The Cavalryman” that was temporarily borrowed from China.

Rohana then broke off the statue’s left thumb and put it in his pocket, authorities said.

It wasn’t until Jan. 8, 2021, that museum staff realized the thumb was missing, and the FBI was able to trace it to Rohana, finding it in his bedroom drawer just five days later, the federal court filing says.

The statue itself is worth an estimated 4.5 million.

The theft caused an uproar in China and the Chinese government called on American authorities to severely punish the suspect.