Social worker stole £10,000 from former client

A senior social worker who stole £10,000 from a man she met when he was a client has been sentenced.

Tabitha Hall, 42, transferred two separate sums of £5,000 from the victim's bank account to hers, Derbyshire Police said.

The force said Hall continued to visit the man weekly - whom she worked with when he was a client - without any authority after his social care was stopped.

Hall, of Springbank Road in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and was sentenced on Friday at Derby Crown Court to one year in prison, suspended for 18 months.

She was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, given a rehabilitation activity requirement of 20 days and must pay compensation of £10,000.

Police said Hall was a senior social worker, responsible for managing supervisors who run social workers in the north of the county.

The man employed a personal assistant to help him, and he told her that Hall had taken two separate amounts of £5,000 from his bank account and transferred it to hers, police added.

An investigation was launched with Hall being suspended from her role.

The force said in an interview, Hall told officers she continued to see the man as his unofficial social worker and friend.

Officers said she told them the first £5,000 she took was to pay for her child's new boiler, and the second £5,000 was because her debt was "getting out of hand" so she asked to extend the "loan".

In a victim impact statement, provided by Derbyshire Police, the man said: "I am struggling to sleep due to this happening to me and my anxiety level is now very high.

"I trusted her and she was my friend. She has let me down and betrayed me."

PC Peter Herrett said Hall's offending was an "appalling abuse of position" and a "breach of trust".

"Despite claiming it was a loan, she clearly had no intention of ever paying it back as she had received a large sum of inheritance, yet didn't make any attempt to return the money she had taken.

"Understandably this has had a devastating effect on this man, who not only saw her as a professional person he could respect, but as a friend.

"Thankfully he has since had his money back from the bank, but I know the impact of this will continue to affect him for some time to come," he said.

Listen to BBC Radio Derby on Sounds and follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.