Woman in £10k kids charity theft
Embezzlement charge admitted by 54-year-old
A worker has admitted embezzling £10,000 from a Stirling-based children’s charity.
Alison Brown siphoned the money from the Aberlour Child Care Trust while working at its head office in the city.
The funds were taken over a period of more than a year - between October 4. 2017 and October 19, 2018 - while Brown was working at the trust’s former base in Park Terrace, Stirling.
At Stirling Sheriff Court on Friday, Brown, 54, a first offender, of Maple Avenue, Stenhousemuir pleaded guilty to embezzlement.
Solicitor Murray Aitken, defending, said that he “anticipated” the court would need background reports before sentencing.
He said: “The money has been repaid in full.”
Sheriff Craig Harris deferred sentence until February 19 for a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty assessment - called for when a court is considering imposing a home curfew order backed by an electronic ankle tag fitted on an offender, in lieu of jail.
He said the reports were necessary because of “the nature of the offence and the size of the figure”.
Sheriff Harris told Brown: “What this means is that the court will not sentence you now, but will, rather, seek to have a report prepared on you.
“Someone from the social work department will meet with you, speak to you about your personal circumstances, your attitude towards the offence, your background, that kind of thing.
“The court will have that report available to it on the next occasion when the court will hear the circumstances, hear from your solicitor about any mitigation, and then make a decision about how to deal with you.”
Brown, who had earlier spoken only to confirm her name, nodded in the dock to show she understood.
After the case, Brown donned a hooded jacket before running to a waiting car without commenting to a reporter.
Aberlour Child Care Trust, which courts financial support from members of the public and advertises “donate today and stop children suffering”, moved to a new charity hub near Stirling railway station last year.
Founded in Victorian times to provide shelter for children, the Aberlour Child Care Trust now provides services for vulnerable and disadvantaged children under the banner “a bad start shouldn’t mean a bad end”.