A Co Down man who defrauded an Ulster Unionist Party branch of over £6,000 narrowly avoided an immediate prison sentence on Thursday.
Desmond Patterson was handed an eight month prison sentence suspended for a year after he pleaded guilty last month to a single count of fraud by abuse of position as the treasurer of the Bryansford UUP branch.
The 67-year old, from Trassey Road in Newcastle, appeared at Downpatrick Crown Court sitting in Belfast via a videolink with his solicitor’s office.
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During a plea and sentence hearing on Thursday, prosecution barrister David McClean told the court that in mid-November 2017 it was brought to the attention of the treasurer of the South Down Association of the UUP “that there were irregularities in the the finances of the Bryansford branch of the party”.
He told Judge Geoffrey Miller KC that an unauthorised cheque for £4,000 had been written on February 28, 2017. There were three cash withdrawals made from the bank account in October 2017 totalling £2,050.
“The cheque had been written by the defendant in favour of his wife. The defendant had also made the cash withdrawals,” explained Mr McClean.
“He was approached privately by the branch to repay the money but he failed to do so.”
As the case remained unresolved, the South Down Branch reported the matter to police on July 6, 2021.
The prosecutor said: “The defendant was interviewed on October 1, 2021 and admitted taking the money without permission. He said he had been the victim of a scam and took the money with intention of repaying it when he got his own money back from the scammers.”
Defence counsel Tom McCreanor said Patterson said full restitution had been made to his instructing solicitor.
He added the defendant was married for 40 years, has four children and five grand children and was effectively before the court with a clear record apart from one speeding conviction.
A Probation Service report said Patterson farmed land in Co Down which had been in his family for generations with his daughter taking an increasing role in the day-to-day running of the farm.
He told the probation officer that he took the money in the belief he could “replace the funds before they were noted to be missing”.
Patterson also said he was “devastated” for breaching the trust placed in him by the party and is “acutely aware of the impact of his misdeeds on his family”.
Said Judge Miller: “For someone who has been a local councillor, somebody who has held a prominent and highly regarded position within his community, it is no understatement to say that he feels the impact of his actions and it has been in every sense a fall from grace.
“Although he took the money for his own benefit, this is not the case of someone stealing the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, but rather someone who faced problems which he should shared with his family rather than abusing the trust placed in him.”
Stating the custody threshold in the case had been passed, Judge Miller said he had decided to impose an eight month suspended sentence.
He warned the defendant that if he was convicted of any further offences in the next 12 months, he would be brought back to court and the eight month sentence would be put into effect consecutive to any further sentence imposed.
“I have absolutely no doubt that Mr Patterson will not be back before any court,” added Judge Miller.
The judge made a compensation order to the UUP Bryansford branch in the sum of £6,050.
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