‘Lenient’ home detention sentence stands

A woman who took more than $300,000 from her employer’s clients has withstood an attempt to jail her.

The sentence imposed on Rebecca Anne Ralph was lenient but reflected the extraordinary circumstances, a High Court judge said.

Ralph, 45, of Waikanae, pleaded guilty to a single charge of obtaining by deception covering withdrawing $327,771.30 from the accounts of 18 clients over 10 years while working for Perpetual Guardian Trust.

Ralph managed estates and the assets of clients who did not have the mental capacity to manage their own affairs.

She was sentenced in Wellington District Court to the maximum terms possible for home detention, 12 months, and community work, 400 hours, and was ordered to pay $20,000 reparation.

The Crown appealed against the sentence, saying Ralph should have gone to prison.

In her decision issued from the High Court at Wellington, Justice Christine Grice agreed the sentence was lenient but said it should not be interfered with.

Both judges saw a psychological report on a member of Ralph’s family, which influenced their decisions. Details of the report were suppressed.

Justice Grice said the sentence was at the low end of the range, with each part being generous but it was difficult to say that any element was wrong.

Home detention was a deterrent sentence able to hold people to account for serious misconduct, she said.