Official once content bypassing rare sinner (5)
I believe the answer is:
reeve
'official' is the definition.
(I know that reeve is a type of official)
'once content bypassing rare sinner' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'content' could be 'ee' (EE is an example) and 'ee' is present in the answer.
'rare' could be 'r' (listed by Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations) and 'r' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for reeve that I've seen before include "local official" , "Pass cable through narrow opening" , "Bailiff, steward" , "Thread (rope) through a ring, old official" , "Former magistrate" .)