Wolverhampton carer stole £2k from elderly
A care home manager stole more than £2,000 from vulnerable residents at the home where she worked, a court was told.
Cherilyn Withers was employed as manager at Glenthorne House Care Home, in Bilston, and was in charge of looking after residents' money.
But the 29-year-old, of Mayhurst Close, began to abuse her position of trust and started to steal the money from the elderly people she was paid to look after.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday she admitted stealing £2,395.73 over a seven-month period.
Once she stole their money, she would then falsify their records in order to hide what she was doing.
When staff at the care home discovered the discrepancies, they immediately contacted the police. Withers was arrested on Christmas Eve in 2012 and subsequently charged with theft.
The owner of the care home, Evelyn Dell, said she did not want to pass comment until Withers has been given her sentence.
Martin Lindop, sector crown prosecutor from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "Targeting someone because they are older makes a crime even more serious, so it is important that we bring these people to justice – whether they be strangers, carers, like in this case, or family members.
"Yesterday's plea is important in showing that the Crown Prosecution Service takes the criminal mistreatment of older people seriously. Living free from crime is a basic human right and today I urge any older people suffering criminal mistreatment to be confident that the CPS understands the serious nature of these crimes, and to report them to police."
Her case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report, and she is due to appear at the court on February 28 for a sentencing hearing.
