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Teenager betrayed family pal
A TEENAGER betrayed a woman who took her into her Clowne home in a £1,200 fraud.
Chesterfield magistrates heard that Charlie Whitehead (18) raided accounts while living with Diane Clarke-Daley, a friend of her deceased mother.
Whitehead had left the address when Ms Clarke-Daley found she had spent 729 on her credit card in 28 transactions.
"She contacted the defendant by text and was told the money would be repaid, but she knew the defendant received only 30-a-week in benefit," said Becky Mahon, prosecuting.
Checks revealed that Whitehead had also spent 367 on Ms Clarke-Daley's Topshop store card and cashed 150 from her Halifax bank account. The fraud totalled 1246.99.
"She said the complainant had asked her to order an item over the internet using her card," said Miss Mahon. "She didn't hand back the card and used it to buy handbags and make-up.
"She said she found the Topshop card on the complainant's bedroom floor and removed a cheque from her chequebook to get cash,"
Ms Clarke-Daley told police she had taken Whitehead into her home when she had no-one and showed her love and affection but was hurt by her actions and would never trust her again.
Whitehead, of Foljambe Road, Chesterfield, admitted charges of theft and fraud at Clowne between May 1 and July 1 and was given a 9pm-7am curfew for two months and ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work, with 85 costs.
Defence solicitor Julia Bosworth said Whitehead was only 11 when her mother died following a battle against cancer. She was educated at prestigious schools and her father was a regimental sergeant major based in Germany.
"At 16 she pushed the boundaries too far and her father disowned her. He was embarassed that she wasn't toeing the line," said Miss Bosworth.
Whitehead went to live with her grandparents but they asked her to leave and she moved into the home of Ms Clarke-Daley's family.
"The complainant's son was jealous and she felt pushed out. But it has to be accepted this was a gross breach of the trust put in her by her deceased mother's friend. She believed she was due to 18 months worth of back-dated benefit and intended to use this to repay the complainant, but she later learned she was not entitled to the back payment," added Miss Bosworth.
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Weather for Eastwood
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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Temperature: -4 C to 0 C
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