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St. Mark's Church, Wimbledon |
A
so-called 'Mary Poppins' nanny, jailed for nine months for stealing
from her employers' £4m Belgravia home, has received seven days for
pinching a pensioner churchgoer's iPhone.
Emma
Jane Currie, 45, who was locked-up in HMP Bronzefield, Surrey still
maintains the lie her ex-employer ripped her off and owes her wages.
She
was sentenced to seven days in prison when she appeared at Wimbledon
Magistrates Court.
She
pleaded guilty to stealing the £300 phone, belonging to 82 year-old
Pamela Royle, at St. Mark's Church, St. Mark's Place, Wimbledon on
February 4, this year.
In
June she was jailed at the Old Bailey for withdrawing £900 cash from
the bank card of her employer, 41 year-old Zoe Appleyard-Ley and
trying to take another £400.
Her
lawyer Mr. Michael Sprack told the court: “The reason for the
severe sentence was she stole from her employers and there was
animosity. She was owed money by her employer.”
Prosecutor
Miss Mary Atere said Currie was arrested as a suspected burglar when
squatting in a Wimbledon property on March 20.
When
searched at Sutton Police Station Mrs Royal's iPhone was found on
her, which the victim had last seen at the church, where Currie was a
regular.
“This
defendant was there helping out,' explained Miss Atere. “The
complainant was afraid the person who had the phone would find out
where she was.
“There
were a lot of homeless people at the church.”
Mr.
Sprack said: “My client attended the church on a regular basis and
found the phone and took it. There was no hint of confrontation.
“There
was no attempt to use the phone.
“My
client was of no fixed abode and had been for some time. She was
arrested for squatting.”
Explaining
the nine month sentence he added: “She was working for the person
who was the complainant as a nanny/housekeeper.
“There
was a dispute and she was owed a large amount of money from that
person. The conviction is for taking money from that person.
“Her
employer had threatened her with bad references.”
Investment
banker Mrs Appleyard-Ley - who worked for Rothschild Ventures and
Durlacher Ventures - was made to regret hiring Currie via internet
site 'Gumtree' to live and work at her Chester Row property.
She
told the Old Bailey of her “earth-shattering pain and sense of
betrayal” at the hands of Currie.
She
only realised something was amiss when Currie did not bring her a cup
of tea in bed and then allegedly found her jewellery, laptop and iPad
were missing from her home.
The
former City high-flyer found her designer handbag containing her bank
cards was gone and her car was missing from the drive.
Currie
was accused of using her boss's stolen credit card to rack up bills
of around £1,000 at several high street stores, including Oliver
Bonas, Boots, Superdrug and Monsoon.
The
court heard a total of £89,000 worth of stolen property was
recovered, but another £81,000, including a Cartier watch, has never
been found.
Mrs
Appleyard-Ley is separated from her husband Sven Ley - a
self-employed art dealer whose family founded fashion label Escada.
She
hired Currie in May, 2013 to assist looking after her two children,
aged four and six and assist the running of Life Neurological
Research Trust, a charity launched in memory of her aunt Baroness
Ziki Wharton, who died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Currie
was still driving around in the Mercedes ML350 - bought by the family
nine days earlier - when police pulled her over near Gatwick.
After
her arrest, Currie told police she took the car as her employer owed
her £1,600 in wages, adding that she had worked for three weeks
without a day off.
She
told the court the figure included 'overtime, working seven day weeks
without a break for three weeks and also holiday pay'.
She
went on to claim she had consent to drive the Mercedes to the south
coast to look for a mobile home to live in after handing in her
notice to Mrs Appleyard-Ley on the agreement she would return.
She
described the allegation she had stolen jewellery as “preposterous”,
adding: “My personal feeling is that this is in the guise of
getting a nice insurance claim for the person involved, the
employer.”
She
claimed: “This whole thing is a bit of a hoax with the jewellery
because I've never seen expensive jewellery.”
Giving
evidence, Currie also explained she had clothes from the
Appleyard-Ley home in the Mercedes because she had been asked to take
them to be dry cleaned.
She
said that she had bought goods using her employer's credit card in
shops such as Oliver Bonas because she had been asked to buy presents
for her children's teachers and friends.