Brantford, Ont., woman serving house arrest for faking pregnancies, scamming doulas faces new charges

WARNING: This article ref‐ erences sexual assault and suicidal ideation, and may affect those who have ex‐ perienced them or know someone affected by them.

A Brantford, Ont., woman sentenced in February to house arrest for faking preg‐ nancies, harassment and fraudulently seeking the ser‐ vices of numerous doulas is in custody and facing new charges, Hamilton police say.

Allegations between April 17 and April 18 spurred an investigation into 25-year-old Kaitlyn Braun this week, police said Wednesday.

"It was reported that Braun falsely solicited sup‐ port related to pregnancy and childbirth from unsus‐ pecting victim(s)," says a Hamilton Police Service media release Wednesday.

Braun was arrested Tues‐ day in Brantford and remains in custody following a bail hearing Wednesday morning. She's charged with: Obtaining by false pre‐ tence. Harassing communica‐ tions. Alleged breach of con‐ ditional sentence order.

It's unclear if there are multiple victims. Police said in an email to CBC Hamilton it won't be sharing any victim information.

"We urge anyone with in‐ formation to come forward to our detectives - that would include anyone who may have been victim that hasn't reported to police," the ser‐ vice said.

Sentenced to house ar‐ rest 2 months ago

A doula is a trained pro‐ fessional who supports clien‐ ts before, during and shortly after childbirth. They also help with grief and trauma around pregnancy loss, but they're not health-care pro‐ fessionals who deliver babies and they don't have access to medical records or equip‐ ment. While doulas have cer‐ tifications with different orga‐ nizations, they are not regis‐ tered with a regulating or governing body.

Braun previously faced 52 charges for seeking the help of doulas in what ended up being false pregnancies and stillbirths from June 2022 to February 2023.

In February, Justice Robert Gee sentenced her to two years of house arrest and three years of probation af‐ ter she pleaded guilty late in 2023 to 21 charges, including fraud, indecent acts, false pretences and mischief. She also was told she'd have to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and undergo mandatory counselling, is forbidden to

contact victims, and is ban‐ ned from using the internet and social media for two years.

During court hearings, lawyers shared Braun's long history of mental health chal‐ lenges, including memories of childhood sexual assault, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar and borderline tendencies. Braun's health records indicate a history of suicidal ideation and almost 200 hospital visits beginning in 2006.

Various doulas gave victim impact statements during Braun's sentencing hearing, detailing how her actions have traumatized them and affected their lives and jobs.

Judge noted impact on victims

Braun also spoke before she was sentenced.

"I know that the words I speak today do not take back what I did and that they don't automatically create healing. However, it is my hope that my words, along with my plan of action, show that I'm a changed person," Braun said from inside the prison‐ er's box at the time.

"What I did was ultimately very wrong, and I feel a strong sense of shame when I think of the hurt and the pain that I've caused. I never wanted to be the person I be‐ came."

Gee acknowledged the immense impact Braun had on her victims before releas‐ ing her sentence.

"The trauma caused was expressed eloquently by many during their victim im‐ pact statements," the judge said. "Many now have trust issues, it's impacted their abilities to carry out duties in their chosen profession as doulas, some have left the profession entirely and all have suffered financially be‐ cause of Ms. Braun."

Help resources

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, support is available through crisis lines and local support services via this government of Canada website or the Ending Vio‐ lence Association of Canada database. If you're in imme‐ diate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.

For anyone struggling with their mental health, help is available through:

This guide from the Cen‐ tre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.