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A Brantford united church minister is out on bail tonight — after spending a couple days in jail on charges of sexual exploitation, luring a child, and possession of child pornography. Police say 64-year-old Barry Pridham was sending sexually explicit text messages to a 17-year old girl in his congregation — and convinced her to send naked pictures of herself.
Barry Pridham’s wife Lola bailed him out and it seemed clear she had no idea the extent of the allegations against him. We can’t share those details because they’re protected under a publication ban, but as the offenses were described in court, Lola Pridham became increasingly red in the face, increasingly agonized, and she couldn’t look at her husband other than an occasional hateful glare. He sat with his head down and his back partially turned away from the body of the court.
Lola exited the building first followed by Barry Pridham as he was released on bail. After she heard the details, she was asked on the stand whether she would still act as his surety and she did not speak for several seconds as if she was reconsidering, but eventually, in a whisper, she said yes. Both crown and defence agreed on 10-thousand dollar bail, but after all submissions, the Justice of the Peace took a 40 minute break, then came back and imposed a 50-thousand dollar bail. She asked Pridham whether he would abide by his wife’s house rules, and he answered, I already agreed your honour. Especially the counselling. he said, I need counselling.
Other conditions — he can’t go near his victim or her family, nor can he go back to the Sydenham Street United Church where he has been a minister for 20 odd years. He can’t be near anyone under 18 unless his wife is there and he’s not allowed any electronic device or have any access to any digital network.
Some church members in court today said they were there not just for Pridham but for everyone involved. They were very sad about what this has done to the community as a whole. Pridham was not just a minister — he has been very active in many parts of Brantford, and has won awards for his social justice involvement. This year, he was planning to step down from the church to run for a city council seat. He didn’t really answer when asked whether he was still running on October 27th.
