Mum-of-two who repeatedly stole from her work is spared jail so she can look after her ill son
A MUM who stole thousands of pounds from her work to fund her cocaine habit was spared prison so she could take care of her ill son.
Wendy Horrocks, 38, had already been handed a suspended sentence for buying £22,500 worth of designer handbags and clothes with a company PayPal account.
Her boss angrily branded Britain’s justice system an “absolute joke” labelled her a “scummy thieving b****”.
Just nine months after her first sentencing, Horrocks got another book-keeping job at Mark Sidebottom’s engineering firm without disclosing her conviction.
She used the same PayPal scam to buy 91 items worth £5,000 — many of which she brazenly showed off to her work colleagues after they were delivered.
Horrocks was only caught after Mr Sidebottom’s wife Lucy checked their accounts at family-run hot water storage system company World Heat and Power Ltd in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester.
COCAINE ADDICTION
When she was confronted Horrocks claimed the transactions were “errors” but later said she carried out the fraud to fund a secret £40-a-day cocaine addiction.
At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Horrocks admitted theft but was given 16 months suspended for two years after a judge said prison would have ”consequences” for her 12-year old son who has an undisclosed illness.
However Mr Sidebottom condemned the sentence on a community Facebook page saying: “What an absolute joke the justice system in this country is, given she was doing what she was doing whilst serving a suspended sentence.
“She did not learn her lesson after the first time and we were lucky to catch her otherwise she would have kept rinsing us until we’d gone bust.”
In January 2017 Horrocks was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years but later got a job at Mr Sidebottom’s firm and used the company PayPal account to get a further £7,349.94 between September 2017 and August 2018.
As well as buying items, she diverted money from wages to her own account worth around £2,000.
If I took the appropriate course you would be going to prison.
Judge Paul Lawton
Prosecutor Jane Dagnall: ”Mr Sidebottom said they had felt betrayed by Wendy Horrocks as they trusted her. He said it was a family business and the workers feel like part of this family and this incident had raised suspicion.
“He said although the company hadn’t been financially crippled, it had had a serious impact on the business and if it had gone on longer it would have been much worse.”
The court heard Horrocks had repaid the Sidebottoms £5,000.
Her lawyer Neil Ronan said: “The real matter to be wrestled with is whether or not to send her to prison and the effect that would have on the family.
MEDICAL PROBLEMS
“Her sons are 12 and 17 and her youngest son is currently having a series of medical tests. She had been sticking her head in the sand due to her addiction. Her husband didn’t know and he was utterly flabbergasted.
“She was addicted to cocaine and hadn’t received support or wished to tell her husband as foolishly she didn’t think she would get help because they have always said together how disgusting drug use is. She felt that telling him would lead to the breakdown of the family home.
Sentencing Judge Paul Lawton told Horrocks: ”It is quite unbelievable for someone to walk into a job as a book-keeper and not divulge a conviction and then repeat the behaviour. So you should regard it as amazing that you’re not going into custody for your stealing because of the consequences on your young son of 12 years old in his formative years.
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“If I took the appropriate course you would be going to prison.
“You are back for stealing from your subsequent employer all of this because you couldn’t stop putting cocaine up your nose. The consequences are your choice, but I am not going to visit that on your young son.
“If you put a foot wrong you will serve this sentence. I don’t want to see you again.”
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