And a general warning went out that those who breach the trust of employers in this way are likely to face a prison sentence.
However, in this case the Magistrate, Bridget Shaw, said she could impose community service as a substitute for custody because the defendant had pleaded guilty, had no recent convictions, the amount involved was small and the money had been recovered.
Centenier Amanda Wright said that Carla Sofia Bernardo Tomaz (43), of David Place, had worked for a Jersey cleaning company for just over four years and had cleaned at the home of the victim on Plat Douet Road for about 18 months.
The Centenier said that over a period of time the victim noted that she was missing small amounts of money of between £15 and £30. As a result, she took advice about what to do as she was suspicious about her cleaner.
Before the cleaner arrived on 7 July the woman removed all the banknotes from her purse, photographed them and recorded the serial numbers. The Centenier said that she then put her purse back in her bag and left it upstairs in her bedroom as she knew that was the area Tomaz cleaned first.
After the cleaner had been in, she checked her purse and found that a £20 note was missing. She phoned the police and they arrived and challenged the cleaner.
The Centenier said that initially the woman denied the theft and the money could not be found. But then the banknote was discovered folded up in Tomaz’s phone case that she had been hiding behind her back. The court heard that Tomaz admitted taking the £20 but denied knowledge of other matters. When asked by police why she had done it, she said that she did not know and told officers: ‘It is not going to make me rich.’
Centenier Wright said that the defendant was in a position of trust and had free access to the victim’s home. Advocate Julian Gollop, defending, said that the defendant deeply regretted her actions.
In sentencing, Mrs Shaw, said: ‘It is a relatively small amount of money but the circumstances in which you took it were serious. If someone has a cleaner working in their home they have to be able to trust that person.
‘This money has been taken from someone’s purse in her handbag in her bedroom. It is very upsetting for people who find themselves in that position.’
She added that anyone who cleans anyone else’s house has to understand they do not steal from that person. ‘In my view this is serious enough for custody as the point has to be made,’ she said.
