A carer who embezzled more than £6,000 from a vulnerable woman was jailed for 12 months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.
Helen Gibson, 54, of Pirnie Hall Farm Cottage, Kelso, appeared on indictment and admitted embezzling £6,250 between December 2008 and December 2010.
Depute procurator fiscal Kate McGarvey told how Gibson began work as a support carer for Choices Care Services in August 2005.
She went on: “They care for people with learning disabilities and she was allocated to a 35-year-old woman suffering from Down’s Syndrome.”
The prosecutor added: “She attended daily for four hours per day, doing daily tasks.”
In 2008, the accused attended a carers’ course.
“She was informed of the vulnerability of clients and the dangers of handling clients’ money, and certain loopholes which had to be protected against in the interests of the clients,” continued Ms McGarvey.
In the course of her work, Gibson withdrew sums of money from the woman’s savings account at the bank. Withdrawals were noted in a lodgings book and the crime was uncovered after the client decided to go on holiday.
“It came to light that the accused was withdrawing a larger amount of money than was being noted in the lodgings book and that the money in the woman’s savings book was substantially short,” said the prosecutor.
Ms McGarvey gave an example of a withdrawal of £200, where only £100 showed in the lodgings book.
“This went on over two years, and she would pocket the difference,” she added.
Gibson made full admissions to police.
“She said that the idea came to her after the training course, when the loopholes which had to be protected against were discussed,” said Ms McGarvey.
Gibson’s solicitor, describing his client as ashamed, told the hearing: “The family was in financial difficulty and this money was for essential household bills, not for any extravagance.”
He said Gibson – a first offender – was at low risk of reoffending and proposed a community-based penalty, adding: “A custodial sentence is not necessary for the protection of the public and custody would have a dramatic effect on her family.”
But Sheriff Derrick McIntyre, imposing a prison term, told the accused: “This was a very serious breach of trust committed over a two-year period, when you were supposed to be looking after a vulnerable young lady with mental health difficulties.
“You knew exactly what you were doing and that it was wrong.”