Autism care worker escapes prison term

Autism care worker escapes prison term

24 September 2014

A SENIOR member of staff at a Newcastle autism day care centre has escaped a prison sentence for false accounting and forgery.

Heather Annett (47), a team leader at the Autism Initiatives care facility on Downs Road, obtained money from a client of the charity by forging receipts for furnishings bought for the client’s home.

Annett appeared at Downpatrick Court on Thursday where she received a 12 month conditional discharge for false accounting and forgery.

The court was told that the client received a grant from the Belfast Health Trust for £1,200 for redecoration.

Annett helped the client order a mattress, curtains, pelmets and a carpets. Annett paid for the items and then produced receipts for the various items.

However, the client expressed concern at the poorly made pelmets which, according to the receipt produced by Annett, cost £348. Eventually the client received a letter of apology from the firm named on the receipt and a refund of £248.

However, Annett’s superiors realised something was wrong and contacted the police who discovered the firm named on the receipt did not exist.

Annett had asked an elderly neighbour to make the pelmets and she then made up a fictitious receipt. When the client complained she also made up a bogus letter of apology and returned some of the money.

Police also discovered that the carpet cost £190 but the receipt was made out for £290.

The court was told that all the money has since been paid back.

A defence barrister said the case has had a significant impact on Annett and her family.

“This is something that got out of control rather than anything else,” he said.

“She volunteered to help and she went along with the resident’s wishes but found it couldn’t be done so rather than go back and disappoint the client she undertook to try to get it done,” he added.

“She didn’t set out to try to make money,” he added.

A pre-sentence report was handed in to the court but the details were not revealed in open court.

Deputy District Judge Joseph McCrisken said the incident was like the storyline from a television soap opera.

He accepted it was a one-off incident and felt that Annett, of Ardaragh 

Road, Newry, would not appear in a court again.

“Persons who come into courts involved in offences involving charities can rightly be expected to be looking at a prison sentence,” he said,

However, he said that because the money had been paid back, she admitted the crime at the outset and because of issues contained in the pre-sentence report, he was prepared to be lenient.