Man caught out having sex chats with a 'child' by his own daughter

A disgraced treasurer whose marriage broke down when he was caught taking more than £7,000 from a church tried to have sex chat with a child, but was caught out by his own daughter.

- by Karon Kelly

Stephen Lo wrote nine cheques totalling £7,633 to himself from the bank account of St Thomas and St Oswald's Church in Sunderland between June and October 2023 and left it overdrawn.

The vicar said Lo's dishonesty not only affected the church financially but added: "This has also had an impact on the people who attend church, they have lost their trust in the church."

Newcastle Crown Court heard when Lo's offending was exposed, he split from his wife and lost contact with his family.

Prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said a few months after the marriage breakup, Lo's daughter, who was a student, saw that he had a profile on Tik Tok that was following young females.

Mr Wardlaw told the court Lo's daughter was at university and added: "At some point in September 2024, she was scrolling through her account on Tik Tok when a video containing an inspirational quote popped up on her page.

"She noticed it had been posted by her father.