Anger after carer thief evades jail
Grandson blasts suspended sentence for ‘betrayal of trust’ as ‘no justice’
A GRANDSON whose family came under suspicion over accusations of stealing from their own elderly relative has blasted the lack of justice after a carer who was caught red-handed escaped jail.
Stuart Vaizey, who also ripped into the lack of transparency at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court after the case was suddenly moved with no notification, said thief Kerry Claridge betrayed the trust of his 81-year-old nan Joyce Cooper.
Single mum Claridge, 32, was caught on a CCTV camera installed by Mr Vaizey after money started going missing from the bed-bound grandmother-of-three’s room.
Mrs Cooper, who had dementia and had suffered a stroke, was being looked after at Brunel Court in Nutfield Place, Landport.
The court heard suspicions arose after Mrs Cooper reported missing cash – with her grandson then installing the camera.
Claridge, of St Paul’s Square, Southsea, stole £50 and cigarettes on two occasions.
Footage captured on April 24 -– after the victim returned home from hospital after suffering a stroke – showed Claridge going through her belongings while another carer looked after her.
Mr Vaizey stormed to the sheltered housing block to confront the thief, but she fled from a back door. He found an earlier theft on the recordings on March 19.
When later questioned by police, Claridge admitted she had struck a third, earlier, time between January 1 and March 18 before the CCTV was installed in the living room.
Claridge, who admitted three charges of theft and was previously warned she faced prison, was handed a 16-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months by magistrates. She was dismissed from her job.
She was also told to pay £250 compensation, as well as being given a rehabilitation requirement. She did not have to pay any costs.
Speaking to The News outside court, Mr Vaizey, 36, said: ‘It’s not really a sentence with it being suspended. It’s not really justice if she stays out of trouble.
‘She’s got to pay back a bit of compensation but it does not pay back anywhere near what she stole. The thefts resulted in a total of £800 so £250 is only a small fraction of it.
‘I was late catching her otherwise maybe we could have got her for more but there’s no proof of that.
‘This was a huge betrayal of trust. No one who is a carer for someone should be doing things like that.
‘My nan’s had a stroke, is paralysed down one side, she’s got heart failure...it’s disgraceful that people should take such an advantage of an elderly person in that position.’
Mr Vaizey was also angry after missing the case at court – listed for the afternoon – which was suddenly moved to the morning with no notification to interested parties.
‘I didn’t get to see any emotion of how she felt or see what happened because I wasn’t made aware it was being heard earlier,’ he said.
‘I was told her lawyer wanted it to happen in the morning but the prosecutor objected. I just think it’s dishonest of the court not to keep me updated or at least phone me to let me know it was heard early.’
The grandson, who also claimed he was refused entry via the front entrance of the court building, added: ‘The court has obligations, there’s no transparency – it feels like a cover-up. They think they can do what they want.’