A young mum wept as a court heard she had stolen from an elderly widow to keep her home.
*sighs* Here we go again…
Selwyn Shapiro, prosecuting the case at Bournemouth Crown Court, said the elderly woman relied upon Manser for a range of tasks, including withdrawing her retirement pension from a Post Office account.
As a result, the defendant, 27 (Ed: some ‘young mum’!)- who was at that time employed by a private caring company - had access to the account and a PIN number.
"The solicitor was doing her duties when she noticed in a bank statement a series of withdrawals," Mr Shapiro said.
"As a result of that, a police investigation started and the account studied more carefully.
"In fact, it was found that on occasion the account had been emptied by reason of those withdrawals."
And, of course, she then threw herself on the mercy of the courts.
Manser was arrested and interviewed, telling police she had withdrawn funds from the Post Office account on 17 occasions.
On 14 of those, the defendant deliberately took more than required by the victim, pocketing the excess.
"She said in her person life that she was struggling with huge debts that had spiralled out of control," Mr Shapiro said.
"She was on the verge of losing her rented property."
All of the stolen funds were spent on the defendant's rent, it was said.
So? If she’d splurged on haircuts and holidays, what difference would that have made? Theft is theft!
Mitigating for Manser, Guy Draper said: "She understands that this was the wrong thing to do and she took advantage of a vulnerable old lady."
He said Manser had demonstrated "full remorse", adding: "She found herself in financial dire straits.
"She took an opportunity born of desperation to keep her family afloat. She is a sole carer for a young daughter."
Mr Draper described the offending as an "aberration", and said Manser has lost her job as a result of the court proceedings and is currently in receipt of £143 a fortnight in benefits.
Good! Who wants to employ a known thief?
Manser, who admitted theft by employee on her first appearance before magistrates, was spared prison by Judge Jonathan Fuller.
However, the judge told her: "This was a wicked and mean offence.
"The victim is 92, lives alone, has recently been widowed and lacks the mental capacity to look after her own affairs."
However, Judge Fuller conceded Manser's personal circumstances also make her vulnerable to a degree.
The defendant was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years and an activity requirement of 25 days.
Judge Fuller told Manser: "This is an exceptional course but entirely justified in your circumstances."
*speechless*
4 comments:
The landlord said it was entirely justified in her circumstances too.
I gave up my job and left my house empty to care for my mother when she was widowed. It was unthinkable that she would be dumped in a granny farm, or otherwise left at the mercies of so called care companies. She has morning and evening visits from carers who are paid minimum wage on zero hours contracts. That means the carers may be open to temptation, my experience is that the carers tend to care while the company only cares about profits. This must be a very rare occurrence, and ought to have carried a heavier penalty to discourage others.
How does one "throw" oneself? What, literally?
"The landlord said it was entirely justified in her circumstances too."
Heh!
"It was unthinkable that she would be dumped in a granny farm..."
Indeed! What else is the purpose of the family unit?
"How does one "throw" oneself? What, literally?"
Off a cliff, if I had my way.
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