Officer in court accused of lying about girl's cancer (From The Northern Echo)

Officer in court accused of lying about girl's cancer

8:00am Friday 17th February 2012 in News By Stuart Minting

A POLICE officer accused of lying to bosses about her daughter having cancer has appeared in court charged with misconduct and fraud.

Rachel Hewitt, 39, is alleged to have lied to senior officers at North Yorkshire Police about her 15-year-old daughter undergoing chemotherapy for leukaemia, triggering a fundraising drive by colleagues.

At a pre-trial hearing at Hull Crown Court, Mark Kendall, prosecuting, said Mrs Hewitt faced a charge of wilfully neglecting to perform her duty and misconduct in a public office between January 2009 and October last year.

She is also accused of fraud by false representation between the same dates and intending to cause loss to North Yorkshire Police, and a separate charge of fraud relating to an allegation that she claimed a daughter was a cancer sufferer on March 16, again intending to cause loss to the force or expose a person to a risk of loss.

Mrs Hewitt spoke only to confirm her name.

The court was told colleagues from across the force area had raised money for her daughter.

Judge Jeremy Richardson recommended the case be heard before a circuit judge, and said: “It is a curious charge; a very unusual case by the sounds of it.”

Mrs Hewitt, of Pontefract, West Yorkshire, was bailed to return to Hull Crown Court on April 3.