By Rachel Morton
An Auckland man who ripped off parishioners from his church has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
Gerard Marychurch took more than $265,000 from churchgoers at St Francis's Catholic Church in Pt Chevalier, claiming the money was for cancer treatment. But instead he used the money to fuel his gambling addiction.
A number of victims didn't come forward because they were embarrassed about being duped.
Marychurch suffered a minor health condition - swollen glands - but he told parishioners he had cancer and for more than six years took their money and gambled it away.
The judge said Marychurch had taken advantage of people who trusted him - many were vulnerable and elderly. Marychurch's lawyer applied for him to have home detention but the judge said that wasn't an option as his offending needed to be denounced with a prison sentence.
Marychurch has also been ordered to start paying reparations once he's released from prison.
He has to pay back $50,000, but with repayments of $20 a week it will take a long time and elderly victims may never get all their money back.
3 News