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Church thief, 79,
sentenced to probation

The church worker who stole from
St. Elizabeth's also must pay restitution

By Steve Murray
Star-Bulletin

A church bookkeeper who confessed to stealing about $85,000 from Sunday Mass collections at St. Elizabeth's Church in Aiea, was sentenced today to five years probation, 500 hours of community service and ordered to pay restitution.

Judge Virginia Crandall set the amount of restitution for 79-year-old Hilda Morse at $110,000 based on the $85,000 taken and the $25,000 the church spent on the investigation.

Morse's attorney Dennis Jung said Morse's actions began when she started compensating herself for money she spent for church supplies.

"It snowballed from that innocent beginning," he said.

Deputy prosecutor Rowena Summerville told the court Morse felt she deserved the money because of the time she invested with the church.

"She said she took the money because she needed to pay bills, but she also took a trip to Disneyland with her family," she said.

Jung asked that Morse be given a chance to clear her record if she meets the terms of probation.

But Judge Crandall said Morse did not take full responsibility for her actions and denied Jung's request for a deferred acceptance of guilt plea.

From January 1995, to October 1996, Morse hid bags containing cash and checks before they were counted. She would take the checks in the stolen bags and deposit them with checks that were counted to make up for the cash she stole.

Father Mike Dalton, the pastor of St. Elizabeth's church, told the court Morse's crime has had a lasting effect on the church.

"The trust of the community was shattered by what she did," he said.

In February, Morse was found guilty of first-degree theft, which has a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

But Morse, who has already spent 39 days in jail, was given time served because of her failing health.

After the sentencing, Father Dalton said he accepts the court's decision and he now has to share the decision with church members and ask them to move on.