Trappist Abbey Accountant, Wife Indicted on Theft of $1 Million

Nelson County, Kentucky, police say an accountant employed by a Trappist abbey in the central part of the state has been indicted, along with his wife, on charges that they stole over $1 million from the abbey.

According to the Associated Press (AP), Sheriff’s Detective Jason Allison said John Hutchins began diverting money in 2008 from an account at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown. Allison said Hutchins and his wife were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on multiple counts of felony theft over and under $10,000 and unlawful access to a computer, among other charges.

Hutchins’s attorney did not return AP’s call for comment.

The 166-year-old abbey, which became well known through the writings of Thomas Merton, who lived there for nearly 30 years until he died in 1968, has been the home of Trappist monks who take the vow of silence.