Defense Asks for House Arrest for Former Parish Book Keeper

CANADA
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A former book keeper at St. Patrick’s Parish in St. John’s will be sentenced in February for defrauding the church of over $300,000.

Dianne Coady was exposed when Parish Priest Father Wayne Dohey decided to follow up on a cheque he had signed, intended for payment of a phone bill. He discovered that the cheque had been paid to the 69-year-old Parish employee, instead of the phone company.

A formal audit later revealed that Coady had defrauded the Parish of over $300,000 between 2007 and 2012.

The Crown has requested that Coady serve 14-16 months in jail, noting her lack of remorse as an aggravating factor. The defense wants a term of “house arrest” as it says Coady poses a low risk to re-offend.

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