A prompt guilty plea and the return of the more than $3,000 she stole from a local non-profit group should allow a local woman to avoid a criminal record.
Kelly Lynn Cooper, 40, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft in St. Albert court Monday and was given a conditional discharge. Cooper will spend the next year on probation and will have to perform 100 hours of community service, but if she completes both of those successfully she will be left without a criminal record.
The case began in 2010 when Cooper’s co-workers at the Lo-Se-Ca Foundation confronted her with suspicious withdrawals between June 1, 2010 and Oct. 14, 2010. The withdrawals added up to $3,333.74.
Cooper had made the withdrawals because of significant financial problems she was facing at home and intended to replace the funds, but she told the court she lost control of the issue.
When she arrived at the court on Monday, she had a complete restitution cheque to return to the foundation.
The proposed sentence came as a joint recommendation from Crown prosecutor John Donahoe and defence lawyer Rory Ziv. Donahoe said he was agreeing to a relatively light sentence because the restitution had been paid and Cooper had no criminal record. She also confessed to her employer and the RCMP almost immediately.
Ziv said while his client took full responsibility for her actions, there would have been some issues if the case had gone to trial. He said his client had turned things around and had come up with the restitution funds even though it was a significant challenge.
“I don’t think we are going to see this lady here again,” he said.
Judge Bruce Garriock accepted the proposal though he did stress that stealing from an employer was very troubling.
“It is a breach of your fiduciary duty as an employee. It is a breach of trust,” he said.
Among the conditions by which Cooper will have to abide is a requirement that she take any counselling her probation officer recommends and report regularly.
