Nanny jailed for £900 bank card theft

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33203473

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A mum wept as her "Mary Poppins" nanny she found through an online advert was jailed for nine months for theft.

Zoe Appleyard-Ley, from London, said her two children were robbed of their innocence when Emma Currie used her bank card to steal £900 cash and disappeared in her car.

Currie, 45, was convicted at the Old Bailey of the theft and attempting to withdraw £400 more on 17 June 2013.

But the jury could not agree a verdict on whether she stole a Mercedes car.

There was also no verdict on three counts of fraud relating to an alleged £500 spending spree at Oliver Bonas, Superdrug and Boots and an attempted fraud at Monsoon amounting to £579 and could not decide whether Currie stole £170,000 worth of valuables.

The prosecution has said it will not seek a retrial.

In addition to the jail sentence, Currie was handed a restraining order to stay away from the Appleyard-Ley family.

Gumtree is an online classifieds website on which users can post adverts for free.

'Malicious charm'

Mrs Appleyard-Ley, an investment banker, described the three-day trial as a "living hell" as Currie attempted to justify her crime during the trial "by painting a portrait of a monster".

As part of her defence, Currie had falsely accused her employer of trying to pull off an insurance scam, taking drugs, and abusing her children - even though a social services investigation concluded it was a malicious complaint.

Reading a victim impact statement, Mrs Appleyard-Ley, supported in court by husband Sven Ley, described Currie as a woman of "conniving, malicious charm".

"There are no words to describe the depth of the trauma and the short, medium and long-term effects that the cruelty of Emma-Jane Currie has had on me and my magical two young children who were four and six at the time of her ruthless theft," she said.

"She knowingly robbed them of their innocence and faith in human nature from the one place they were safe, their own home, where she had been in a position of absolute trust."

The trial had heard how Mrs Appleyard-Ley, from Belgravia, thought she had found her own "Mary Poppins" when she hired Currie to be her live-in nanny in May 2013.

But on June 17 of that year Mrs Appleyard-Ley reported the theft of items including iPads and a laptop after Currie failed to bring her a cup of tea in the morning, jurors were told.

Currie was accused of taking £170,000 worth of valuables and driving away in her employer's Mercedes.

She was driving the car when police pulled her over near Gatwick the next day.

After her arrest, Currie told police she took the car "as my employer owes me money", adding that she had worked for three weeks without a day off.

She went on to claim she had consent to drive the Mercedes after handing in her notice on the agreement she would return it later.

Giving evidence, Currie described the allegation she had stolen jewellery as "preposterous".

She also claimed she had used her employer's credit card in shops because she had been asked to buy presents for her children's teachers and friends.