Wayward priest in UK defrocked over insurance fraud
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Being dubbed the “randy reverend” for frolicking with a member of the congregation wasn’t enough to cause an Anglican priest to lose his job, but forging a senior bishop’s signature on insurance forms did it.
Former priest David Huntley, 54, has been defrocked for forging the Bishop of Durham's signature in an alleged insurance fraud scheme. This after being suspended for two years in 2016 after he had an affair with 28-year-old barmaid and member of his congregation, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.
Mr. Huntley allegedly faked a letter to insurers in a false redundancy claim, using the bishop's official headed paper for authenticity, the newspaper reported.
The disciplinary tribunal described this as “grave, indeed criminal, misconduct” in its ruling, adding: “It fell very far short of the high standard of behaviour expected of clergy. The claim was fraudulent and in making it the respondent acted deliberately, deceitfully and dishonestly,” the newspaper reported.
It’s not the first time Mr. Huntley cross the line: His affair with the barmaid produced a child, the newspaper reported, adding that the scandal was discovered when the pair was caught together late at night by the father of her two other children.
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