Thief carer left victim broke
A SHEFFIELD Council social worker plundered over £19,000 from the bank account of a vulnerable wheelchair-bound client he was supposed to be caring for - leaving her unable to afford food and care fees.
Peter Tennant, aged 54, was told by a judge at Sheffield Crown Court he had let himself and his profession down by abusing the trust of his 65-year-old victim as he was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Lorraine Rennie, who was wheelchair-bound and had suffered three strokes, had problems comm- unicating and was incontinent.
Because of Tennant's thieving she was left unable to pay for food, housing and care fees and had to borrow money from staff at the sheltered housing complex where she lived.
Sentencing him Judge Patrick Robertshaw said: "She was an easy target. The trust which was reposed in you was of a very high order indeed and in a gross, blatant and cynical manner, over a period of 12 months, you abused that trust by taking significant sums of money from the victim for yourself.
"It was fraud and misconduct that will undoubtedly shock the consciences of decent, ordinary, right-thinking people."
He added: "In offending in the way that you did, you have let down not only yourself but the social work profession to which you formerly belonged.
"The public simply won't understand any sentence other than one of substantial and immediate custody."
The court heard Tennant, of Long Eaton, Derbyshire, was Miss Rennie's social worker between June 2007 and March 2009.
Richard Sheldon, prosecuting, said: "On December 17, 2007, the defendant was added as a signatory to her bank account for emergencies.
"It gave him access to her account and he was given a cash card as well as a personal identification number.
"The prosecution case is that between January 2008 and February 2009, whilst he was supposedly caring for Lorraine Rennie, he took a large amount of money from her account which has not been accounted for."
A police investigation showed in total Tennant had stolen 19,933 by making cash withdrawals in Sheffield and Derby and 10 direct transfers into his bank account.
Mr Sheldon said: "It would appear that her accounts were systematically run down and emptied.
"When funds became available he knew they were going in because as soon as it went in the money was transferred to his accounts."
He added: "On numerous occasions she ran out of food, to such an extent that staff had to pay for it.
"By February 2009 her housing and care fees were in arrears."
James Baird, defending Tennant, who admitted fraud and misconduct in public office, said he had stolen because he had huge debts.
He said Tennant had lost everything including his good character, the respect of his community, his partner and his pension.
He would also be de-registered as a social worker, he added.
Eddie Sherwood, interim director of adults' services at Sheffield Council, said: "This individual's role was to serve and support a vulnerable woman at a critical time in her life, and what he did was a deplorable abuse of her trust. What he did is a gross insult to the majority of our highly professional social workers.
"Cases involving vulnerable adults can be difficult to prosecute but this shows they can have a successful outcome.
"As soon as the allegations came to light we informed the General Social Care Council, which suspended him from working as a social worker. Although he resigned from his post, the council took disciplinary action and his work record will show he was dismissed. We have referred him to the national Independent Safeguarding Authority, which has the power to bar individuals from working with vulnerable adults."
He added the council was conducting an internal inquiry to see if there is anything it could have done to prevent the fraud.
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