A
MAN tried to blackmail a Roman Catholic priest by pretending to have
found indecent images of children on his mobile telephone then
threatening “to go to the tabloids”, it was claimed yesterday.
Swansea Crown Court heard Michael Joseph Costello, 38, allegedly
threatened Llanelli- based Father Michael Manning and made several
requests for money.
Patrick Griffiths, prosecuting, said Father Manning handed over
amounts of £200 and then £80 before approaching a more senior member of
the church to tell him what had been happening.
Mr Griffiths said: “Father Manning feared he was capable of causing him harm. At the time there was widespread concern about the Roman Catholic
church’s handling of actual or alleged cases of sexual abuse of young
people.
“He felt he was vulnerable.”
Costello, of Sherwood Street, Reading, denies charges of stealing a
Blackberry mobile telephone belonging to Father Manning and blackmailing
the priest between March 7 and April 12 this year.
He also denies stealing £135 in cash from Royston Benn.
Mr Griffiths told Swansea Crown Court how Costello turned up at
Father Manning’s home next door to the Our Lady Queen of Peace church in
Llanelli earlier this year claiming he was destitute.
Mr Griffiths said Father Manning took pity on him and gave him about £100 in cash.
Mr Griffiths added: “But while Father Manning’s back was turned, Costello stole his mobile telephone.
“Having decided that he was a soft touch the defendant decided to blackmail him.
“He pretended that he had found images on the mobile phone that could be very damaging and embarrassing if they became public.”
The court heard Father Manning handed over £200.
Mr Griffiths said: “But blackmailers do not know when to stop and Costello made repeated demands.”
Father Manning contacted his superior, Father Martin McGreal, the Carmelite order’s Prior Provincial, based in Kent.
The senior cleric agreed to help.
It was decided that Father Manning would step down as priest and Father McGreal took over as priest at Our Lady Queen of Peace.
Father McGreal began to receive telephone calls from Costello, who thought he was still talking to Father Manning.
Father McGreal refused to hand over any money and dialled 1471 in an attempt to discover who had called him.
The telephone number which was returned, said Mr Griffiths, was that of a mobile telephone belonging to Royston Benn in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The prosecutor claimed Mr Benn knew Costello “who viewed him as
another soft touch” and had let him stay at his home for a few days.
After Costello left he discovered that £135 was missing from his
wallet and that his mobile telephone’s credit had been exhausted.
Mr Griffiths said the call log showed the telephone had been used to call Father Manning’s home landline.
After his arrest Costello refused to answer any questions from police.
The jury, said Mr Griffiths, will have to decide if Costello made
the demands for money or if someone else was responsible for the
demands.
The case continues.
SIC: WO/UK