A man was fined £120 after pleading guilty to ‘vexing’ a priest.

Sonny Mannion, 32, had been due to stand trial at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (February 9) for using threatening behaviour towards Oxford Oratory’s Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith on May 10 last year.

The Greater Leys man was originally charged with an allegation of having ‘molested, let, disturbed or troubled’ an authorised preacher in a place of religious worship, an offence under the 163-year-old Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act.

But on Thursday, prosecutors u-turned on a previous decision to substitute the ‘troubling a preacher’ charge with the now more common Public Order Act offence.

Appearing before the justices in the afternoon, Mannion, of Appletree Close, Oxford, pleaded guilty to the allegation.

He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £119 in costs and surcharge. A restraining order prevents him from contacting the priest or going to the Catholic church where he ministers.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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