Standing in the dock of Craigavon Crown Court, Rev. Adrian McLaughlin looked stunned as the jury foreperson announced the 10-2 majority verdict that the 50-year-old was guilty of fraud by abuse of position.
The jury heard that while Rev. McLaughlin claimed the money was to reimburse him for money he spent himself on the “beautification and betterment” of St Colman’s parish, he tried to cover up his fraud by filling in the cheque stub as payable to “NI Organs Ltd”. The minister was however found unanimously not guilty of four further fraud offences relating to other donations, funeral collections and money obtained through a weekly Slimming World class.
During the course of the six day trial, the jury heard how Rev. McLaughlin was appointed as rector for St Colman’s Church of Ireland parish in Dunmurry in 2014 and that after the church was decimated in a fire in January 2016, “much of the governance” of the parish and its rebuild was down to the rector and the “select vestry”.
Six days later, however, Rev. McLaughlin lodged that £10,000 cheque into his own account, filling in the cheque stub as paying NI Organs Ltd. The fraud was only uncovered, the jury heard, towards the end of 2018 when with the minister and his then wife going through a marriage split, concerns were raised about his conduct and the church treasurer asked the bank for a copy of the cheque.