Mum of two breaks down in tears after avoiding jail for stealing €8k from employer
'I don't know why I did it.'
A MOTHER OF TWO broke down in tears as she was given a suspended sentence for stealing thousands of euro from a local shop after she had been promoted to supervisor.
Jordan Gantley (30), from Rosconnell Square in Newbridge said she was ashamed and didn't want her children to be disappointed in her after she admitted stealing €8,640 from the Londis on New Street in Rathangan.
'I don't know why I did it. It spiralled out of control,' she said when questioned over the thefts which took place in June and July 2021.
Jordan Gantley (30) from Rosconnell Square Newbridge.
Judge Terence O'Sullivan handed down a three month suspended sentence at Nass Circuit Court noting that Gantley was remorseful, lost her job and made full admissions.
He said the thefts were 'opportunistic' and 'not a case of a professional thief.'
Gantley, who the court heard has had two children since carrying out the thefts and sees herself as a role mode, cried when Judge O'Sullivan handed down the suspended sentence.
Garda Helen McDermott told the court that the shop launched an internal investigation after becoming aware of irregularities.
She said Gantley, who had been working in the shop for three years and had been promoted in that time, was using gift cards to top up prepaid Swirl credit cards and overwriting transactions.
The court was told she was 'topping up one card with another'.
She was confronted by her bosses when they noticed the missing money and was caught on CCTV carrying out one of the thefts.
She emailed the owner of the shop and admitted carrying out the thefts stating: 'I'm sorry I never planned to do it. I want to apologise.'
She also said she didn't want her children to be disappointed in her and was 'ashamed' of her actions.
She was fully cooperative with gardai and admitted carrying out the thefts when interviews saying she transferred money from gift cards to the prepaid credit card.
'It spiralled out of control I don't know why I did it. I had to pay off loans and used money to get groceries.'
Her defence barrister said the offences happened in 2021 during the Covid pandemic when Gantley was isolated and cut off from family.
The court heard Gantley had not paid back any of the money to the shop but had brought €900 to the sentence hearing as a token of remorse.
He said if she had the money she would have paid back the full sum but was not in a position to do so.
He added that she sees herself and a role model to her children and felt her crimes left a stain on her character.
Judge O'Sullivan said the crime was opportunistic and at the higher end of low range or lower range of mid range.
He said the headline sentence was one of 18 months but due to a number of mitigating factors including her admissions, guilty plea, genuine remorse and losing her job as a result of her actions he was handing down a three month sentence but was suspending it in full for a period of three months.
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