Church employee who stole £100k to fund ‘excessive way of life’ ordered to pay again simply £1k

The mother-of-four pleaded responsible at Southwark Crown Court to 9 theft costs totalling £96,331, taken from charitable donations over 11 months between September 2018 and August 2019.

Yawson had labored as a Gift Aid and Operations Technician on the Roman Catholic diocese, which encompasses Westminster Cathedral, since 2013.

Judge Weekes handed Yawson, from Stonebridge Park in north-west London, a two-year jail sentence suspended for 2 years.

The court docket heard that Yawson used the stolen funds to buy presents for her household from John Lewis and despatched £8,500 to Jamaica, which she claimed was to cowl medical bills for her grandmother who suffers from leukaemia.

However, Judge Weekes famous that the quantity transferred overseas was “dwarfed” by the sum “you spent on yourself”.

“All in all, you were funding yourself to a reasonably good standard of lifestyle – grossly and dishonestly.”

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Judge Weekes emphasised the real-world penalties of Yawson’s crimes, stating that weak folks had been disadvantaged of charitable assist due to her actions.

“Small children, like the ones you look after, went hungry or more hungry while you helped yourself to a high lifestyle,” he instructed her.

During sentencing, the choose additionally referenced a earlier conviction from 2021, when Yawson defrauded her accomplice’s mom of £16,000.

“It might be thought that once bitten twice shy, but it would appear not,” Judge Weekes remarked, including: “It seems that temptation overwhelmed you again for reasons that are not entirely clear.”

Nicholas Seed, the Diocese’s chief monetary officer, expressed the organisation’s anguish in a sufferer affect assertion learn to the court docket.

He mentioned: “The gift aid money stolen is not an abstract number of a spreadsheet. Her actions reverberated beyond this courtroom into every corner of our community.

“We are deeply saddened by Ms Yawson’s betrayal and the hurt it has induced to our charitable mission.”

Ryan Evans, defending, instructed the court docket that his shopper felt real regret and acknowledged her wrongdoing.

He argued that separating Yawson from her three-month-old toddler would have a “detrimental affect on each events”.

The sentencing had been delayed from October after Yawson was about to give birth to her fourth child.

Despite her prior conviction, Judge Weekes concluded that she did not “current a excessive danger of reoffending or hurt”.

Citing “surprising delays” in proceedings that started in 2019, he ordered Yawson to finish 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation actions.

She should additionally observe a five-month curfew between 7pm and 6am, monitored by an digital tag.