A thieving carer from Ayrshire has been jailed for stealing from vulnerable elderly women in her care.
Fiona Devan, 40, preyed on three victims between October 2017 and October 2019 and stole hundreds of pounds and precious jewellery from them while she was employed as their carer.
Devan, of Drumley Drive in Mossblown, helped herself over the course of a year and made several cash withdrawals from her first victim’s bank account after the 68-year-old woman, with mobility issues, had entrusted Devan with her bank card and pin number to get shopping for her.
The brazen carer pinched a gold ring and a gold diamond cluster, with a total value of £300, from her second victim, aged 82.
And she stole £850 worth of jewellery, including an amethyst pin, from her third victim — an 88-year-old woman, who lived in sheltered housing and had restricted mobility.
Ayr Sheriff Court previously heard that the 88-year-old woman has since passed away.
Depute fiscal Mhairi Mair previously said: “She did not recover well after the events and did not sleep in her bed after.”
Devan appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court on Monday for sentencing where her solicitor Peter Lockhart said she has “expressed deep regret, shame and embarrassment.”
Mr Lockhart said: “She accepts she committed this reprehensible crime on the most vulnerable members of our society.
“And it is of course made worse that she was a carer, and she accepts that there’s no getting away from that.
Mr Lockhart referred to social work reports which made reference to Devan having a drug problem.
He added: “Taking drink or drugs is not a mitigation, it’s an aggravation, but there was that background.”
Sheriff Desmond Leslie jailed Devan for 14 months.
Sheriff Leslie told Devan: “You must have been aware of the consequences of what you were doing.
“These were very vulnerable women.
“And it was certainly said of the woman in charge 3 that she felt extremely uncomfortable in her house thereafter.
“You were a carer and these women trusted you. They may not have had anyone else.”
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