A CARER who stole more than £9,000 from a severely disabled man flaunted the items she bought with the stolen cash under her unknowing victim's nose.

John Vickers, 39, of Colburn uses a wheelchair due to spinal muscular atrophy, and employed 23-year-old Sacha Evans as part of his care team in February last year.

But several months later he was horrified to discover that Evans had been using his mobile phone to access his bank account and pay herself money in instalments which eventually amounted to £9,100.

The Northern Echo:

John Vickers from Colburn, who had more than £9,000 taken from his account by one of his carers 

Evans, of Greenwell Street, Darlington, admitted theft at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday where it also emerged that in an attempt to mitigate her crime, she falsely accused Mr Vickers of sexually propositioning her.

Last night Mr Vickers told The Northern Echo he was trying hard to not let Evans' behaviour shake his trust in people.

He said: "It was hard, especially when it first happened. I had a very bad week not sleeping and being stressed out."

In hindsight Mr Vickers said it should have been clear that Evans was stealing money because when she first started the job she would complain about being "skint" but over the course of her employment she would tell him expensive purchases she was making.

Mr Vickers recalls her boasting about a laptop she bought in a "good deal", along with a television, new flooring and an expensive leg tattoo, as well as switching from tobacco pouches to more expensive cigarettes.

"It is like a kick in the teeth," said Mr Vickers.

"But you have got to stay positive and do the best you can.

"I am quite a stoic person and things don't get to me, but after Christmas it just hit me like a tonne of bricks and I just found myself crying and not knowing why because nothing had actually happened that day."

Mr Vickers said he was "bitterly disturbed and disappointed" when during the investigation the police told him about Evans' allegations that he had asked her for sexual favours.

"It just makes me feel sick that she could stoop so low and make it about me rather than about her stealing," he said.

In court, prosecutor Victoria Lamballe branded Evans' account as "utterly fabricated" and "wholly fictitious".

And Evans – who was convicted three years ago for stealing from a former employer – was told by Judge Deborah Sherwin that her latest crimes were "wicked in the extreme".

Judge Sherwin added that the false accusations would have "wounded" Mr Vickers and "added insult to injury".

Victoria Smith-Swain, mitigating, said Evans was planning to move to Leeds with her boyfriend and 18-month-old child and become a carer for her disabled mother.

Evans offered to pay back Mr Vickers £40 a month from her benefits, but that would take almost 20-years to settle the £9,100 debt, and the judge advised that he should pursue a civil claim against her.

Miss Smith-Swain said: "Miss Evans would like me to apologise on her behalf not just to Mr Vickers, but also to the court and the police."

Evans was given a 17-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 19 sessions on a Thinking Skills course.

Judge Sherwin said she considered ordering unpaid community work, but told her: "Any time you have spare, you should try to get employment so you can pay back the money.

"You have now got two convictions for dishonesty on your record, and if anything like this happens again, it is unlikely a judge will be lenient with you."

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Vickers said he had hoped that Evans would get immediate jail time but he was determined to move on from the incident.