Charity worker cleared of fraud over £16,000 gift

A charity worker has been cleared of fraud by abuse of position in relation to a £16,000 gift she was given by a victim of sexual abuse.

Kathryn Kelwick had been working as a vulnerable adults manager at Swinton Lock Activity Centre in Rotherham when she accepted the money from a service user's compensation pay-out.

Kelwick told jurors at Sheffield Crown Court earlier this week that she thought the money had been a gift as part of the friendship she had formed with the person she was supporting.

On Wednesday, jurors returned a not guilty verdict, clearing Kelwick, 55, and of Eilam Road, Rotherham, of the offence.

The court heard Kelwick supported the complainant, a service user of Swinton Lock, for a number of years and helped her with "all aspects of life".

Kelwick told the trial she had considered them "really close friends", saying they had gone on day trips together, celebrated Christmas and birthdays together and did "things friends do together".

Despite the woman's reservations, Kelwick encouraged her to file a claim with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which compensates victims of violent crimes for their physical or psychological injuries.

The complainant told the court Kelwick filled out the forms for her and she was subsequently awarded £33,000 between September 2021 and May 2022.

She had told the court that it had been "part of the deal" to split the money with Kelwick, but Kelwick denied such arrangements had been made.

Kelwick told the trial that the first time she received the money, she told the complainant she would return it.

However, Kelwick said, the complainant said she would just send the money back to her.

Kelwick accepted she should not have kept the money but did not accept it was "criminally wrong".

Defence counsel Dermot Hughes previously argued the complainant gifted the money out of "sheer gratitude" and because his client had "saved her life".

Swinton Lock manager Jayne Senior previously told the hearing that Kelwick was let go from her role for gross misconduct.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North