Annabel Walker sentenced to prison
The law finally caught up with Bowral socialite Annabel
Walker at the Downing Centre Local Courts on Wednesday afternoon when she was
sentenced to 18 months in prison on a string of fraud and deception
convictions.
Walker, known to her family and friends as
"Belle", must serve a non-parole period of 12 months.
Magistrate Susan McIntyre told an emotional Walker, 32, her
punishment reflected "fundamental breaches of trust" and that she had
"drawn many, many people into this tangled web of deceit".
Walker swindled her former employer, hotel operator
Australian Leisure Group, out of $17,000.
She pleaded guilty to using a corporate credit card to buy
goods for herself, ranging from expensive dresses and home delivered booze to
dinners at swanky eatery Rae's at Byron Bay.
Other victims ranged from someone who paid $550 for an
iPhone she was selling on Facebook but never delivered, to $7200 in unpaid rent
for "luxury accommodation" for 2018 New Year's Eve celebrations.
Walker had continued on her path of deception for many
months, even while she was subject to community corrections orders for previous
fraud offences.
Among the most serious crimes cited in court was Walker
providing false documents, earlier this year, to police claiming she was unable
to meet her bail conditions because she was in hospital seeking treatment for
unspecified mental health issues.
Walker admitted the documents were a total fabrication. The
magistrate noted she had included names of people who had not worked at the
South Coast Private Hospital for many years.
"These document offences under the Crimes Act are at
the highest end of offending as it strikes at the heart of the administration
of bail, which is a flagrant disregard for your obligations of honesty,"
Ms McIntyre told Walker, who shook and cried as she stood before the court.
Walker told her emotional parents, who sat quietly in the
public gallery, that she was "so sorry, please don't worry" and that
"I deserve this" as she was led out of the courtroom by Corrective
Services officers.
Walker's case has drawn considerable media attention, given
her privileged background and family's high profile connections.
The former Frensham student ended up representing herself on
Wednesday after her solicitor withdrew on Tuesday night, citing an unspecified
"conflict" in the matter.
In representing herself, Walker told the court she had
"not slept a wink" and offered her "deepest apologies" for
her crimes, adding she wanted to pay back the money she had stolen and was
hopeful she could serve her sentence in the community.
She also claimed her "state of mind" at the time
of the offences was akin to an "out-of-body experience".
But Ms McIntyre remained unmoved, saying a custodial
sentence was necessary to send a clear message to Walker and the wider
community about the gravity of her crimes.
Initially composed and dressed in a chic black skirt,
matching jacket and sporting a designer handbag, Walker - described in previous
press reports as "a nice girl from the Southern Highlands" - could
have passed for one of the many solicitors who spend their days representing a
wide diaspora of colourful clients at the city court complex.
But such misconceptions were soon allayed when she was led
away in handcuffs and a flood of tears.
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