London, England, Apr 10, 2017 / 03:02 am
Fr. John Reid, a Roman Catholic priest serving in County Durham, England, has been spared an 18-month jail sentence for stealing more than £50,000 from his parish, which he had been spending on his housekeeper and her two daughters.
According to media reports, the 70-year-old priest was given an 18-month suspended sentence after admitting to fraud by abuse of position at an earlier hearing. He has agreed to repay the money within three months.
"The defendant was arrested in May 2014 at St. Patrick's Presbytery, Stockton. It appeared that the defendant was virtually living as a family with Gillian Leddy and her daughters, Veronica and Alice," said Jane Waugh, the prosecutor in Fr. Reid's case, according to the Telegraph.
"There had been dramatic increases within the categories of General Administration, House Keeping, and Hospitality. This would appear to be because Gillian, Alice, and Veronica Leddy…were effectively living at the presbytery and the defendant's expenditure increased to reflect the fact that he was helping to support them financially," Waugh said.
Fr. Reid was assigned to St. Cuthbert's parish in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle in 2009. Within a few years of his arrival, some parishioners began to raise eyebrows when the parish's spending had more than doubled.