A cleaner who stole more than £6,000 worth of jewellery, including a wedding ring, from a psychotherapist's south-west London home has avoided jail.
Bulgarian-born Katerina Ivanova stole a diamond ring, a wedding ring and a Tiffany watch while cleaning the home of Margaret Reiser in Kew on August 29 2023, prosecutors said.
Ivanova, 31, of Enfield, north London, pleaded guilty to one count of theft which came to a total of £6,790, Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday.
The count had included a Rolex watch and cash from Ms Reiser's home but Ivanova denied this.
District Judge Sushil Kumar sentenced her anyway, saying it would not make a "material difference" to the sentence.
Ivanova was sentenced to eight months, suspended for 18 months.
The judge said the "disgraceful conduct" by Ivanova had a "very real and significant effect on Ms Reiser and her family in what should have been a place of safety and security".
He said that her action "was a breach of a high degree of trust and responsibility", adding that "emotional distress" was caused.
Ms Reiser, originally from the US, said in her victim impact statement that the items she took were "precious family heirlooms" which were pawned for a "pittance of their value".
She said the "cruel" thefts had an "unbearable" impact on her and her family.
Prosecutor Barto De Lotbiniere told the court that Ms Reiser employed a cleaner from an agency to arrive at her house at 2pm on August 29 2023.
Mr De Lotbiniere said that Ivanova was "not known" to Ms Reiser and had not been to the property before.
Ms Reiser left the property and when she returned at 4.30pm, the defendant was no longer there and a number of items were missing, the court heard.
The victim called police but also hired a private investigator to help find the items, the court heard.
On September 4 2023, the private investigator traced down Ivanova and found that the rings had been sold to a pawn shop near to the defendant's address, Mr De Lotbiniere said.
The rings were bought back, the police were called and the Tiffany watch was found at Ivanova's property and returned, the court heard.
Lily Malone, defending, said that Ivanova "felt shameful and does feel shameful for her actions on this day".
She added that the reason Ivanova took the items was that "she had never seen anything like that" and acted "opportunistically".
Mother-of-four Ivanova sold the rings to make money for her family, Ms Malone said.
Ivanova must also carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,800 in compensation, the court heard.
