Judge shows mercy to greedy thief who stole 'up to £10k' in donations at Manchester Children's Hospital

An employee of Manchester Royal Children's Hospital's fundraising charity has escaped jail despite stealing up to £10,000 in donations - in part because she has two children. Olivia Spencer, now 29, was eventually caught after colleagues discovered 'discrepancies' in the accounts.

The mother from Prestwich stole cash kindly donated to Manchester Foundation Trust between October 2018 and and March 2018, taking money intended for hospitals across Greater Manchester.

But today a judge decided not to send her to prison because of the length of time since she stole the money and also because her two children 'would suffer'.

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With another member of staff, she worked in the trust's office at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital receiving donations from kindhearts, the court was told.

Their job was to receive the money and place it into the safe after the donor had signed a receipt book, prosecutor Denise Fitzpatrick told Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday. But an internal investigation was launched after 'discrepancies' were uncovered when donors complained they had not received the usual 'thank you' note.

The investigation uncovered 21 suspicious transactions where there was 'no trace' of where the donated cash had gone, according to Muss Fitzpatrick.

Among the suspicious donors was a teaching assistant at a local primary school which had raised £400 for the hospital and a local nursery which had also raised funds with a cake sale, said the prosecutor.

An investigation began on March 14, 2019, and Spencer was placed on restricted duties the following day. The defendant then phoned in and said she was ill due to 'work-related stress', said Miss Fitzpatrick.

When staff searched the defendant's office drawer, they found a note referring to '205', which was the amount missing from the primary school's £400 donation.

Colleagues told investigators they were surprised by Spencer's lifestyle which was 'disproportionate' to her relatively modest wage, the court was told. The defendant told one colleague a footballer was the father of her son although she never gave a name, said Miss Fitzpatrick.

The investigation also found that when Manchester College came with a donation of £274.30 Spencer told college staff they were not allowed to pose for a picture of a cheque being handed over.

The court heard that the director of the trust had described how the theft had a 'huge impact' on colleagues many of whom were interviewed as part of the investigation. The fraud had a 'negative impact' on the reputation of the trust, a charity.

Investigators could only locate the amounts in connection with nine of the 21 suspect transactions, and those totalled £1,236.30, the court was told.

Miss Fitzpatrick said remaining donations were 'not expected together to amount to more than £10,000'.

When Spencer, who has no previous convictions, was arrested and interviewed, she denied the allegations and when she appeared in court initially she pleaded not guilty. She changed her plea on the eve of her trial.

Dudley Beal, defending, pointed out his client was of 'previous good character' and that she had not offended in the five years since the thefts. He said her crime had been 'opportunistic rather than deliberate'.

Spencer's father had died of cancer and she now has two children aged four and 12, the youngest born after her crime, said Mr Beal. He pointed to a pre-sentence report by the probation service which said the defendant expressed 'genuine remorse'.

The Judge, Mr Recorder Lowe said it was a 'reasonable inference' that Spencer had stolen a 'significant amount' of money, pointing out her conduct had also 'cast suspicion' on her colleagues during the early stage of the investigation. The judge went on there was evidence donors had 'lost faith' in the trust.

Recorder Lowe said the crime had 'crossed the custody threshold' but he added that the offence was 'now five years old' and that the defendant had committed no crimes since. He said 'in all the circumstances' he could suspend the prison sentence.

He said: "I take the view I can suspend the sentence because there's a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and also, significantly, if you were now to go to immediate custody your two children would suffer."

Spencer, of Daneshill in Prestwich, was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence after she admitted a single charge of theft. She was also ordered to carry out six days of rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work. As she is in receipt of universal tax credit, Recorder Lowe said he would not order her to pay costs or compensation.

After the hearing,Tanya Hamid, director of Manchester Foundation Trust Charity, said: “We took immediate action as soon as we realised that cash was missing. The investigations led to the employee’s dismissal and the sentence passed today. This sends a strong message that theft or fraud against NHS charities is totally unacceptable.

“We’d like to thank everyone who has continued to support the charity, enabling us to fund excellence in treatment, research and care across our family of hospitals. As swift action was taken, we can assure our supporters that this individual has not impacted on our ability to fund life-changing and life-saving projects."

The charity raises funds for ten hospitals across Greater Manchester, including Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.