The Court: Ringwood Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Michelle Pavlica
The Charges:
The Allegations:
The client was a 27-year-old retail assistant who had engaged in deceptive conduct by misusing her staff discount card to process customer transactions at a reduced price and retain the difference. The total amount of dishonestly obtained was $2,500 over a six-month period.
The client was subsequently charged with a number of deception offences committed against her employer.
At Court:
The client was extremely remorseful and regretted her actions. Given her circumstances, including her lack of prior criminal history and her age, our solicitor had discussions with the prosecutor for a Diversion recommendation. Our solicitor also provided supporting material on behalf of the client to the prosecutor, including character references, a document stating the client was studying at university, and a letter of apology written by the client. The prosecutor agreed to recommend diversion and filed a diversion notice with the court.
Following an interview with the Diversion Coordinator at court, the matter proceeded as a diversion hearing. Our solicitor made lengthy submissions regarding the client’s offending and mitigating circumstances.
The Outcome:
The Magistrate was satisfied that diversion would be appropriate under the circumstances and authorised the client to be placed on the Diversion Program. The conditions attached to the Diversion Program included a small donation to charity and to be of good behaviour for six months. A diversion means no criminal conviction is recorded.
Typically, cases involving an employer and a breach of trust are taken very seriously by the courts, so this was an excellent result.
