Prison term for fraud

Press, 26 April 1979, Page 4

Prison term for fraud

An unemployed woman, aged 21, collapsed in the dock after hearing Mr P. J. McAloon, S.M., say in the Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday that imprisonment was the only appropriate sentence for her offending. Diane Sandra Cain, aged 21, was sentenced to four months jail when she reappeared in the dock about 30 minutes later. She was also placed on probation for 12 months. She appeared for sentence following her conviction on 15 charges of false pretence, and one of forgery, involving about $lOOO, committed in Christchurch during a 10-day period in February.

Counsel (Mr R. A. Osborne) said the purpose for the offending was the defendant’s desperate need for money at the time when she was in effective control of her landlady’s four young children, and her own young son, was unemployed, and not in receipt of an unemployment benefit.

From a working holiday in Australia, Cain did have a small amount of savings, but under the circumstances in which she found herself these were quickly used up, said Mr Osborne.

He said all the purchases made by his client, apart from two purchases of clothing, had been disposed of for cash, the items of jewellery had been recovered from a pawnbroker and returned to the owners. The defendant by selling some assets had paid $4OO into counsel’s trust account toward compensation.

The Magistrate said the defendant had a propensity for 'offences of false pretence. In spite of the earlier leniency of the courts she did hot seem to have learned her lesson.

“You just don’t go mad with a cheque book when the going gets rough,” said the Magistrate. He suggested there were agencies in Christchurch which would be prepared to help in the sort of situation the defendant found herself at that particular time. It had not been false pretence offending on a small scale. The defendant had taken goods worth about $lOOO from shops around Christchurch while the charge of forgery involved $135.

It had been a repetition of the sort of offending the defendant had been involved in in the past

PERIODIC DETENTION An unemployed youth charged with burglary was sentenced to periodic detention for six months. David John Nevitt, aged 19, was also ordered to pay compensation of $259 which was a quarter share of the unrecovered property taken. Last week the Magistrate was told that as a result of the burglary of a house in Heywood Terrace on April 5, property worth $2300, including a canary in a cage, was taken from the house. Only the canary, none the worse for the experience, had been recovered. Counsel (Mr E. H. Parsons) said his client had only played a minor role; he had been the driver of the car used by the party which had burgled the house. Throughout, Nivett had remained in the car, said Mr Parsons. The Magistrate said it was probably the most serious crim? the defendant had committed to date and he accepted that Nivett’s role had: been of a minor nature. DRUG CHARGE Joseph Richard Paynter, aged 21, unemployed, was remanded in custody to May 1 on a charge of possessing I heroin. Bail was opposed by Sergeant J. T. McCormick. The alleged offence occurred on Tuesday. CHARGES DENIED John Edward Mann, aged 30, a tattooist, was remanded to May 24 for a defended hearing on 12 charges. Mann (Mr D. I. Jones) faces 11 charges of false pretence and one charge cf attempted false pretence, involving clothing, liquor and a cigarette lighter to a total value of $1054. He was allowed bail of $lOOO with one surety of the same amount.