A former IT worker at Alder Hey hospital stole 60 iPads destined for sick children and their families.
Mohammed Moosbally helped himself to nearly £29,000 of the hospital's equipment in a "despicable" series of burglaries. The dad-of-two flogged the devices then spent the cash on cocaine and accommodation when sleeping rough.
But the 54-year-old was today spared jail after a court heard of his personal difficulties - including PTSD brought on by the Hillsborough disaster.
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Alder Hey took delivery of 100 new unboxed iPads, bought at a cost of £48,000 in total, on May 26 last year. Liverpool Crown Court heard the hospital intended to give them to sick children in a scheme set to launch in November.
Derek Jones, prosecuting, said they were to be loaned to children whose families couldn't afford IT equipment and used for online consultations with staff. Mr Jones added: "An important consequence of these online consultations would mean the children would miss a lot less school."
Alder Hey rented a shipping container from Merseyside Police in the secure car park of Eaton Road Police Station in West Derby. Using an identity pass, key fob and codes, hospital staff could enter an office there where the keys to the container were held in a safe.
But when hospital IT staff went to the container on November 10, Mr Jones said they discovered "every single one of those 100 iPads was missing". Staff used Apple software to send a message to the iPads - appearing on the login screen - saying they belonged to Alder Hey.
A customer who had bought an iPad from CeX contacted the electronic exchange shop, which traced the device back to 54-year-old Moosbally. He had sold 40 of the iPads to CeX in St Helens for £200 each, using his own name.
Alder Hey said he had worked for them as an IT contractor for 18 months, until June 30, 2021. Moosbally handed himself in to police on December 23, when he "had his NHS identity card upon him".
He confessed to police and said he was struggling financially and had a cocaine habit. Moosbally told officers he only stole 60 iPads and had no idea they were destined for sick children.
He admitted burgling the container several times between May and November. Mr Jones said the prosecution didn't challenge that he only took 60 iPads - of which just 10 were returned to Alder Hey.
Moosbally, of Grassington Crescent, Halewood, has one previous conviction for theft by employee in 1997.
Rebecca Smith, defending, said her client hadn't understood at the time the iPads were for sick children, but accepted Alder Hey could use them "in any way they deem appropriate". She said Moosbally was "an educated man" with "a strong work ethic", but PTSD had led to time off work and contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.
Ms Smith said he was too "ashamed and embarrassed" to ask for help from friends, colleagues or family, and when his role at Alder Hey ended, he started "living on the streets". She said he was "self-medicating" with cocaine and also spent cash on places to stay and "hide away" from his shame and what could be described as a "despicable" crime.
Ms Smith said Moosbally had now moved in with his elderly mum and dad, who have arthritis and cancer respectively, and supported them both. She said he had a good relationship with his ex-wife and two sons, aged 15 and 16, who he sees regularly, and they all would be affected if he was jailed.
Ms Smith said his PTSD was worsened by him being "asked to attend at a number of tribunals and inquests". Recorder Mary Prior, QC, said she required more information about Moosbally's mental health problems before she passed sentence.
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After making enquiries, Ms Smith told the court Moosbally was formally diagnosed with PTSD in 2012 after a spell as an inpatient, following a suicide attempt. She said he suffered from heart problems and had now been referred for counselling via his GP.
Recorder Prior told Moosbally: "You're a father and carer for your parents, who have health difficulties. You're an intelligent man, having obtained A-Levels and further education in computers. And during the period of time in May to November last year, you became a thief and a burglar."
The judge said he stayed out of trouble for 24 years until he raided the container and took 60 iPads. Recorder Prior said: "Whilst I accept you did not know precisely what those items were for, your learned counsel rightly acknowledges you were well aware they were for Alder Hey Children's Hospital, so they would have been required for the assistance of serious ill children, even if they were not placed directly into those children's hands."
The judge said it was "a particularly unpleasant offence", involving a significant degree of loss and planning, deliberate targeting of premises, and "abuse of trust". However, she accepted he made "full and frank admissions" to police, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, expressed remorse, and had been unemployed and homeless.
The judge said: "I also accept that for a very significant part of your life you have been subject to trauma and the after effects of witnessing the horrific disaster at the Hillsborough stadium. I accept that you were a young person at that time and that the trauma that you felt and had to cope with has been exacerbated by numerous anniversaries, inquests, other difficulties, and the fact that for a very long period of time, it was not possible for this matter to be laid to rest."
Recorder Prior said he made "serious attempts" on his life; she had "no doubt" his PTSD was partly why he became addicted to drugs "to cope with the memories and flashbacks"; and his parents and children would suffer if he was jailed.
The judge said: "None of those things is an excuse for offending - there are people who are going around this city day-to-day who suffered the same trauma as you did and who have not resorted to offending."
However, Recorder Prior said "bearing in mind all that I have read and know about you", she would suspend a sentence of 18 months in prison for two years.
She handed him a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, to "help you get a support plan in place for when times are difficult". The judge also made a four-month home curfew, from 8pm to 8am daily.
A Proceeds of Crime Application hearing has been set for this summer.
