By Sarah Klein
A Roman Catholic priest who stole $13,200 from a church in Brandon was sentenced to 18-months house arrest on Tuesday.
Raju Madanu, 36, was accused of stealing funds from St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church between February 4 and June 29 of this year.
Authorities discovered most of the money was being funneled to family members overseas, but a portion of it was scattered across Tanzania and India to assist farmers and orphans.
Church staff grew suspicious when weekly collections started to fall short, and contacted police. A sting operation was setup and caught Madanu in the act as he made his way out of the church in the wee hours of the morning, after stealing marked bills police had placed inside the church.
— With files from the Brandon Sun/Brandon Police Service
