A former youth minister will spend the next nine months in jail after pleading guilty to theft charges on Monday, November 16, 2009. William Charles Lohn appeared before Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler and entered a plea of guilty to theft over $60,000.
Lohn was indicted in August after members of Shelbyville Mills Baptist Church contacted authorities with information that the former youth minister embezzled over $80,000 from church coffers.
According to assistant district attorney Mike Randles, Lohn has agreed to serve 10 years on state probation, subject to serving nine months "day for day," which will be followed by three months of house arrest.
Lohn will also have to make the arrangements for the home confinement and pay for the costs of the electronic monitoring.
Restitution will also be required with Lohn paying back $78,245.25 to the church. Ten percent of that figure, $7,824.52, is due within 30 days and then Lohn will have to pay $655 a month. He will also have to pay court costs and will report to jail on Dec. 16.
Randles told Crigler that Lohn had begun writing himself additional paychecks from the church about three years ago.
At one point, Lohn had repaid some $2,700 and Randles said that the minister "always had the intent to repay the money" but over a period of time, it became "no longer feasible" for Lohn to pay back the rest "and cover up what had been done."
Several members of Lohn's church were in attendance for his plea on Monday.
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