Church pair jailed for stealing £200k left by worshipper
A COUPLE who stole almost £200,000 from their church to pay for gambling and cars have been jailed for nearly five years.
Gillian Rainford abused her position as church treasurer to siphon off funds that had been bequeathed by a parishioner.
Rainford, 62, transferred the money into her own bank account and that of her husband, Gregory Rainford, 66.
Bournemouth Crown Court heard that over a two-year period, Rainford frittered away £192,000.
She gambled online and gave both her grown-up children a windfall of £20,000 each. The couple also bought two cars.
Their criminal activity was exposed when Rainford was replaced as treasurer of the Charminster Spiritualist Church, in Bournemouth.
She was jailed on Friday for three years and two months and her husband for 19 months.
The theft occurred after the church received a windfall of £222,000 left by late member Vera Lawrence in 2012.
But instead of allocating the funds to repairing the leaky church roof, Rainford moved it into her personal account and spent it with her husband.
The theft lasted from April 2014 to April 2016 and the Rainfords, from Bournemouth, were arrested by following month.
Rainford had been president and treasurer of the century-old church, which has 50 members, since 2008.
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Thomas Bushnell, defending her, said: “This was an opportunistic crime, albeit it dragged out over a period of time.
“She is consumed by shame and guilt for what she had done.”
Justin Gow, defending her husband, said: “They didn’t spend the money on wild parties or exotic holidays. lost everything.”
Rainford pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position while her husband admitted concealing, disguising or transferring criminal property.
Jackie Gunningham, chairwoman of Charminster Spiritualist Church, described the sentence as “an empty victory”.
She said: “The church desperately needed the funds which were bequeathed, it would have made a huge difference with repairs.
“They have jeopardised future of this church.”
They have the