Treasurer who stole £50,000 from parish church to fuel alcohol and gambling addiction spared jail

Photo by Daniel Tseng on Unsplash

A man who stole £50,000 from a Co Down parish church to fuel an alcohol and gambling addiction has been allowed to walk free from court.

The 66-year-old was instead handed an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, given his role as sole carer for his registered blind wife, with the judge citing this as a "considerable" mitigating factor.

At Craigavon Crown Court on Friday, Edwin Reginald Wallace, of Elmfield Villas in Warrenpoint, was also ordered to repay just £7,500 of the £50,000 fraudulently obtained from Clonallon/Warrenpoint Parish Church.

Wallace, who had acted as treasurer at the church, wrote several cheques out to himself between August 2019 and October 2021.

The court heard that police received a report in relation to a suicidal male; Wallace had earlier telephoned the Lifeline charity and disclosed that he had fallen into debt as a result of addiction to alcohol and gambling.

Police spoke with him that day where he made the same admission. He was released and brought back as a voluntary attender at interview, where he cooperated fully and made full and frank admissions to the offences.

The court heard how he had previously worked in the bank but retired in 2018. He was then under financial pressure and during COVID, he developed a problem with alcohol.

His gambling addiction intensified over the same period and he originally intended to use short term borrowing to repay the monies, "but it got out of control".

It was at this point he contacted Lifeline and brought these matters to a head.

Judge Ramsey, in delivering his ruling, continued: "He expressed shame and embarrassment to police throughout the interviews and he estimated he had taken just short of £50,000 and that was confirmed by the subsequent inquiries and investigating by police.

"The Prosecution have outlined there are significant aggravating features, in that it's a significant breach of trust, and involve multiple transactions over a period of two years.

"The mitigating factors are that he brought himself to police attention and followed up with full admission and cooperation and, of course, he comes before the court with a completely clear record."

A pre-sentence report described how his wife underwent surgery for brain tumour and lost her vision in 2017 and as a result Wallace is her sole carer.

Judge Ramsey added: "He shows remorse for his actions. I've been able to observe him here in this courtroom and I clearly see that he is a man who's deeply ashamed of where he finds himself."

Judge Ramsey alluded to the fact that the insurance company compensated the church for approximately £10,000, however, addressing Wallace directly said: "I appreciate, because of your means at the moment, you're in no way to deal with that particular matter.

"But I do feel you should make some sort of a contribution and, accordingly, I will impose a compensation order in the figure of £7,500."

Wallace, who was freed from the dock, was given six months to pay that figure.