Mother of local golf star charged after more than $5,000 stolen from school
The mother of an Ottawa golf star has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from the public elementary school where she worked.
Ottawa police fraud detectives have charged Kathleen St-Germain, 45, with one count of theft over $5,000 after being tipped off to the alleged crime by the school board.
In the fall of 2014, the OttawaCarleton District School Board conducted an internal review and found that revenues typically expected were missing in the 2013-2014 school year at Roberta Bondar Public School, on Lorry Greenberg Drive in the city ’s south end.
The board questioned staff, police said, and St- Germain, a school office administrator who was suspected of taking the money, didn’t return to work.
The school board then filed a complaint to police. St- Germain was charged Wednesday.
St-Germain is the mother of golfer Grace St- Germain, a member of the Golf Canada national women’s amateur team.
Grace St- Germain is a member of the Daytona State College Falcons golf team in Florida. She had accepted a two-year athletic scholarship to the University of Arkansas starting in the fall of 2018.
In 2015, Grace started a GoFundMe campaign to help the Orléans native and her family with the costs of pursuing golf.
“The cost of my golf is huge strain on my entire family and I am hoping to alleviate some of this strain and stress from them,” the then17-year-old, who has been golfing since the age of seven, wrote about the campaign.
Kathleen St-Germain was released on a promise to appear in court on April 12.
Anyone with information pertaining to this matter is asked to contact Det. Steven Malo from the Ottawa police organized fraud unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5443 or at malos@ottawapolice.ca.