Jail for fraudster who targeted the deaf

A woman whose dishonesty struck hard at the Christchurch deaf community has been jailed for 18 months.

Judge Brian Callaghan sentenced Christine Doreen Ticehurst to a prison term because he did not believe home detention was enough to make her accountable for the harm she had done to her victims and the deaf community.

He said Ticehurst, 49, had had an enormous impact on the deaf community whose members relied on each other for assistance and support. Her victims trusted her as she was part of the close knit community.

Ticehurst had admitted three charges of obtaining by deception, totalling nearly $102,000.

At her sentencing in the Christchurch District Court Judge Callaghan said Ticehurst volunteered her services to assist a deaf couple build a home. She showed them home brochures and faxed legitimate looking papers from lawyers and a mortgage broker.

The couple had given her over $84,000 after hard work and saving and it was a realisation of a dream, but the owning of a home in the forseeable future for them was now shattered, he said.

There was other offending going on at the same time, as she was borrowing money from another victim, and staying at a hotel in Christchurch and using its services which she could not pay for.

He said it was hard to gauge what the motive was for the offending, other than for personal greed.

The pre-sentence report said the money was used to buy a truck, a dog, and a trip for her former partner.

He said reparation was a forlorn hope but made an order for $50,000 at $70 a week to be apportioned on a ratio basis to each victim.

He said Ticehurst had affected the victims' lives with such enormity that home detention was not sufficient.

The deaf community in the court clapped and one man said, "Well done," as Ticehurst was led to the cells.

- NZPA