A disabled man has told of his disappointment after the carer who stole more than £9,000 from him escaped a custodial sentence.
Sacha Victoria Evans appeared in Teesside Crown Court yesterday where she pleaded guilty to the theft and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.
However, the sentence was suspended for two years, meaning she will not be jailed.
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She was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £140 and is required to do a 20-day rehabilitation activity.
She offered to repay the money at the rate of £20 a fortnight although the judge said the victim would be better taking civil action.
Mr Vickers, 39, told Richmondshire Today last night that he was disappointed with the sentence.
Evans, 23, of Greenwell Street, Darlington, started work for Mr Vickers in February 2017.
Mr Vickers has spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and needs cares to help him with everyday tasks.
He hired Evans as relief for his existing carers after advertising the position on Facebook.
However, soon after she started, a permanent role became available and he offered it to her.
He said: “There was nothing to cause me to think anything was wrong. Everybody liked her.”
It was only in early July that Mr Vickers realised there was a problem. While checking his bank account that he used to pay his carers, he noticed that the balance was a lot lower than normal.
He later checked with the help of his mother and found that Evans had transferred £1,000 to herself.
Looking back over the statements, they found she had made several payments over the previous three months.
Mr Vickers believes she had memorised his PIN while helping him make a genuine payment, and then transferred the money to her self on his phone when he was not there.
She had then initially taken £100, before transferring larger amounts of £1,000 and £2,000 at a time.
In total, she took £9,100.
He notified his bank who confirmed the payments had been made via the mobile phone app.
He then contacted the police who arrested Evans the following day when she arrived for work.
Mr Vickers says he is getting the over ordeal with the help of friends and family, although it has meant he has had to reevaluate who he trusts.
Commenting on the suspended sentence, he said: “I feel disappointed and let down.
“She’s basically got away with it.
“Repaying the money at £20 a fortnight is a joke – it’s going to take her 18 years to pay it back.”
