Fraud sentence reduced

A woman who defrauded Wellington Airport and later ACC has had her jail sentence reduced after an appeal.

Jenna Marie Davidson pleaded guilty in January to attempting to pervert the course of justice, forgery and using a credit card to obtain property while working at ACC. She was sentenced in April to two years and nine months in prison.

This week she appealed against her jail sentence, saying not enough weight had been given to the domestic violence she had suffered, and how it influenced her offending.

In considering the appeal, Justice Jillian Mallon said that, while she accepted a psychiatry registrar’s opinion that the main driving factor for Davidson’s offending was the domestic violence she suffered, it was only one factor.

However, the judge said in her decision that a greater discount should have been given for Davidson’s personal circumstances, and found the sentence too long.

She decided the sentence should be reduced by five months.