Church man's theft after car sex

Church man's theft after car sex

A married parish treasurer stole more than £35,000 from church funds to pay off a woman he had a sexual encounter with.

Maurice Dean arranged for 59 cheques to be paid to himself while looking after money for five churches in Wolverhampton.

Stafford Crown Court heard on Wednesday, the woman started blackmailing Dean after she met him in a pub and had a sexual encounter with him in his car.

The 60-year-old father-of-two was given a suspended prison sentence.

She had chatted him up and they had gone out to his car

Richard Atkins, prosecuting

Dean, of Lower Street, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, stole the money between November 1999 and March 2002, while worshipping at St Mark's Church in Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton.

Richard Atkins, prosecuting, told the court Dean spent a brief period on the run before his arrest, after the church spotted irregularities in the accounts.

Mr Atkins said Dean told police the woman, known as Pat, knew his background with the church and forced him to hand over the money.

"She had chatted him up and they had gone out to his car. Some form of sexual activity then took place in the car," Mr Atkins told the court.

Simon Ward, defending, said: "Although it is true that the police were sceptical about his account, would a man with this background give this story as a reason for stealing money if it were not true because it's immensely embarrassing to him and his family and friends?"

Dean pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to seven specimen counts of theft, covering £7,396, and asked for 52 similar offences to be taken into consideration.