BishopAccountability.org
	Judge Drops Charge That Pastor Stole from Needy By Carl Hessler Jr. Pottstown Mercury March 30, 2007 http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18146802&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6 Norristown — A judge ruled prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to try a former Royersford pastor on allegations he stole money from a church fund for the needy. Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter indicated in a one-page ruling that prosecutors failed to establish that a crime actually occurred in connection with William B. Shrout Jr.'s handling of $393 in a Sunshine Fund while he was pastor at the First United Church of Christ. Carpenter made the decision after reviewing documents, including a church ledger pertaining to distributions from the Sunshine Fund, that prosecutors submitted as evidence against Shrout. "I'm sure he will be pleased," defense lawyer William J. Honig said Thursday on behalf of Shrout. However, Shrout's legal problems aren't totally resolved. Carpenter did uphold a lower court judge's decision to send Shrout and his wife, Carla, to trial on charges they allegedly stole antique Bible books from the church and sold them on eBay for $115. "I still believe there's no proof ... but I certainly understand the judge's ruling," said Honig, referring to the charges that remain. "These people have been through a significant ordeal." It remains unclear if county Assistant District Attorney Nathan Schadler will appeal the judge's ruling on the Sunshine Fund to state court. "We're considering all options and analyzing how we're going to move forward with the case," Schadler said. In the meantime, the Shrouts will be scheduled for trial on the remaining charges. During a pretrial hearing earlier this week, Shrout asked Carpenter to dismiss all the charges against him. Honig argued that prosecutors did not produce sufficient evidence to support the charges presented during the Feb. 1 preliminary hearing before District Judge Walter F. Gadzicki Jr. and that Gadzicki's decision should be overturned. Honig maintained prosecutors could show no evidence that any money was ever missing from the Sunshine Fund, which Shrout created in February 2005 to assist the needy. Honig argued recipients who received the money were to remain anonymous and that Shrout had the discretion to choose who was to receive assistance. Honig said Shrout denies any criminal wrongdoing. Schadler had alleged that disbursements from the fund were made to Shrout personally and that none of the money ever went to needy families. Carla Shrout was not charged in connection with the alleged Sunshine Fund theft. William Shrout served as pastor of the church from June 2003 until July 2005, when he was let go. In the charges that remain, prosecutors allege both Shrout, 30, and his wife, Carla, 33, participated in the theft of a rare collection of 30 miniature, antique, leather-bound Bible books from the church and then sold them for about $115 on eBay, an online auction site. Gadzicki ordered Carla Shrout to answer to theft-related charges in county court for her alleged role in the Bible book caper. Carla Shrout, through her lawyer Richard D. Winters, also sought to have the charges dismissed. Winters argued that prosecutors produced "no evidence to show that a theft occurred within the two-year statute of limitations." Winters, arguing the books are not unique or rare and that thousands of the Bibles were sold in the early 1900s, implied there is no evidence that the Bibles sold by the Shrouts are the Bibles that belonged to the church. An investigation of Shrout began following the sale of the Bibles on eBay. Aware that the Royersford church had reported a set of such Bibles stolen, a Phoenixville woman purchased them. The return information on the books listed Carla Shrout, with a Northamp-ton County address, court documents said. The couple had moved to Mount Bethel where Shrout currently is the pastor of Trinity UCC. The couple remains free on own-recognizance bail while awaiting further court action. Contact: chessler@pottsmerc.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.