A Nelson County grand jury returned indictments Wednesday afternoon against two people accused of embezzling more than $1 million from the Abbey of Gethsemani.

FILE PHOTO/The Kentucky Standard The Abbey of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery in Nelson County, has been shaken this week by the indictment of an employee and his wife, John and Carrie Hutchins, for theft, and by Hutchins' allegations of sexual misconduct involving monks and staff members.

John E. Hutchins and his wife, Carrie, were indicted by a Nelson County grand jury on 348 counts each, with accusations ranging from theft by unlawful taking, complicity to theft by unlawful taking, unlawful access to a computer and complicity to unlawful access to a computer.

The alleged embezzlement stretched from December 2008 to February of this year.

In mid-February, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from the Abbey of Gethsemani in reference to a possible embezzlement from its accountant, John Hutchins, according to a press release from the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.

A police investigation revealed bank transfers from the monastery’s account into another account, according to the press release. The total amount transferred is more than $1 million.

John Hutchins’ lawyer, Luke Morgan, told The Courier-Journal that the abbey knew of and approved of his client’s expenditures.

When contacted by the Standard Thursday, Morgan declined to comment on the indictment, but said his client would be pleading not guilty at his upcoming arraignment.

In a statement to the Standard, the abbey said John Hutchins was suspended from his position in February pending an investigation. His employment has since been terminated. John Hutchins had been employed in the monastery’s bookkeeping service since 2007, according to the statement.

The abbey said it has fully cooperated with the police investigation.

“This breach of trust has been harmful to the network of good will that exists among the monastery’s employees, neighbors, visitors and benefactors,” the abbey said in the statement. “With the help of professionals, the Abbey of Gethsemani is developing a new system of financial controls to reduce the risk of a theft of this nature from happening again. We continue to pray for Mr. Hutchins, his family and all of those affected by these allegations.”

According to the Courier-Journal, Hutchins claims he is being falsely accused after blowing the whistle on monks he says engaged in sexual affairs behind the monastery’s walls. Hutchins has claimed multiple sexual affairs between monks and female employees, and also said the women were rewarded with promotions, according to The Courier-Journal.

Nelson County Sheriff’s Office Detective Jason Allison said he is aware of the claims, but the accusations don’t play into the case.

“I don’t investigate affairs,” he said. “I think the evidence is going to show that (the alleged embezzlement) is an ongoing offense that has been going on for many years. The stuff he is talking about is fairly recent.”

The Hutchins’ bonds were set at $50,000 cash, according to their indictments.

The couple is scheduled to be arraigned in Nelson County Circuit Court on May 22.