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Fugitive priest turns himself in to British police

Simon Reynolds, of Farnham, Surrey, did not return to Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

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A spokesman for Sheffield Crown Court confirmed that Reynolds, who had denied the charges against him, will appear at the court on Tuesday (July 28) for sentencing.

Reynolds was found guilty of pocketing 24,000 pounds ($37,000), which was meant for wedding, funerals and graveyard monuments while he was the priest at All Saints Church in Darton, 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of London, between 2007 and 2013.

South Yorkshire Police feared Reynolds, of Farnham, Surrey, could have fled to mainland Europe, and alerted Interpol.

50-year-old Simon Reynolds handed himself in to Sheffield Police station yesterday afternoon where he was remanded in custody overnight. He will be sentenced today.

Senior members of the clergy had appealed for Reynolds to hand himself in, including the Right Reverend Tony Robinson, Bishop of Wakefield, and the Venerable Peter Townley, the Archdeacon of Pontefract.

Reynolds was found guilty of keeping the fees for weddings and funerals for himself, instead of passing them on to diocesan authorities as required.

He should have given the money to the diocese and the parochial church council, the court was told.

A church warden thought it was “irregular” that a fees cheque from a stonemason relating to a churchyard monument was made out personally to the former vicar.

Mr Storey said an investigation by the church, then the police, showed he had only passed on a fraction of what he should.

He said: “While none of the offences took place in Farnham, the ramifications have certainly been felt and yet St Andrew’s has continued to serve its community offering a range of groups, services, events and music in the centre of town”.

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The Independent has approached South Yorkshire Police for comment.

Simon Reynolds was a stipendiary priest at All Saints in Darton