A Southwestern Ontario teen sank herself in a Sarnia courtroom with a social media post of her offence, although she didn’t remember doing it.
The young woman from the London area was at a party inside a cottage in Grand Bend on June 10, 2020. The homeowners noticed the next day nearly $25,000 in high-priced goods and cash were missing.
“After her departure from their residence, (she) posted on her Snapchat account a video of herself in possession of those stolen items,” the court heard.
The items included a 15-carat Rolex watch worth $15,000, a Louis Vuitton backpack valued at $3,500, Gucci men’s shoes and a satchel worth a combined $2,200, a $400 Canada Goose men’s vest and $3,800 in cash.
Defense lawyer Autumn Johnson said her client, who had just started drinking alcohol at the time, recalled going to the party that night but doesn’t remember what happened next.
“While she doesn’t have an independent recollection of it, she did see the video and was able to confirm that it was her in the video,” she said.
Two years and six months later, the woman pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of property obtained by crime worth more than $5,000. But she won’t be named as she received a discharge tied to two years of probation and has no criminal record, although she was slapped with a hefty restitution bill and 50 hours of community service.
Her lack of a prior criminal record factored into the Crown and Johnson both agreeing to suggest the discharge. Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski said it was a very lenient sentence based on the value of the items she had and noted they weren’t recovered, forcing the homeowners to make an insurance claim.
“Having said that, I appreciate that you were a very young adult at that time,” the judge said, noting she was just 19.
Johnson said she was young, experimenting with alcohol and was hanging around the wrong crowd.
“It was a lapse of judgment that was likely fueled by the alcohol use,” Johnson said, adding her client has stopped drinking since then.
Leszczynski said it appeared to be out of character for the woman and the suggested sentence, although lenient, wasn’t contrary to the public’s interest.
“I’m satisfied that in consideration of all these factors a conditional discharge is appropriate,” she said.
But she was ordered to pay more than $17,000 to Wawanesa Insurance, who reached a settlement with the homeowners for the stolen items. She also can’t contact them.