Carer who stole from clients avoids jail time

A carer from Galashiels who stole from two disabled clients has been placed on supervision as part of a Community Pay Back Order as an alternative to custody.
Selkirk Sheriff Court.Selkirk Sheriff Court.
Selkirk Sheriff Court.

Kerrie Campbell, 30, of Woodstock Avenue, was also ordered to pay £500 in compensation to the two men.

She pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of electronic items, clothing and food totalling £1,000 from the disabled clients between June 1 and October 1, 2018.

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A previous hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court heard that the mother-of-three became the main carer for two disabled men, assisting them with household tasks, attending college, outings and organising a shopping list.

But in 2018 relatives of one of the men became suspicious that Campbell was taking advantage. A check on one shopping trip to Tesco paid for by one of the men's bank card, on a day Campbell was rostered to work, revealed that dog food, a unicorn and confetti were purchased which the man would not have bought and he also did not have a dog.

Another receipt featured swim hats and women's tights, but the man could not swim.

Depute fiscal Miriam Clark said that the accused would put items of food into the trolley while out shopping with the men and it would be paid for on the man's bank card.

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There were also a series of online Amazon purchases which were mostly items for children.

The court was told a search warrant was executed at Campbell's property on July 12, 2019.

Ms Clark said the total value of items stolen was £1,000 and there was no recovery.

Defence lawyer Mat Patrick said Campbell was no longer a carer and would never work as a carer again, but was now training to be a hairdresser.

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Sheriff Peter Paterson said he would follow the recommendation in the social work report and impose a supervision order for the next six months as well as ordering Campbell to pay a total of £500 compensation to the two men.

He added that he was aware of threats of violence aimed against the accused on social media regarding the case and warned any offenders that if they appeared in court they would be severely dealt with.