'Disgusting' Castleford woman caught on camera abusing dementia patient and stealing his money
A devious woman who pretended to help an elderly man with dementia stole his money and even tried to instigate sexual contact in order to take his wallet.
Leanne McFarlane was finally arrested when the man’s son secretly planted cameras in the house to catch her in the act.
And it was not long before the hidden devices picked up the despicable 29-year-old pinching cash from the man’s wallet.
The drug addict even said she would kill herself if she was jailed, but the judge at Leeds Crown Court said prison was the only option, handing her a 28-month sentence.
It was heard that she likely met the man outside his home where he lived on his own. He suffers from vascular dementia.
But the man’s son became suspicious of her motives and warned her to stay away. However, he then installed the cameras in his father’s house suspecting she would return.
On January 18 this year, they picked up McFarlane rifling through the man’s wallet and taking out the notes.
Then on the evening of April 24, while the man slept in bed, McFarlane crept into his room. Footage played to the court showed her searching through clothing to find his wallet, remove a bank note and put the wallet back.
She left but returned later that night and the neighbour saw her knocking on the man’s door. She told the neighbour she was there about his gas and electricity.
McFarlane eventually got into the property but the neighbour was suspicious so called the police.
Prosecutor Katy Welford said she then tried to engage the man in sexual acts to distract him and steal his wallet, although no sexual charges were brought against her.
The man was left crying when he realised she had taken his money. McFarlane, of Grange Road, Castleford, was later arrested.
In a victim impact statement from the man’s son, he said he was “disgusted” that she could take advantage of a vulnerable man.
McFarlane admitted two counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary.
Mitigating, Rachel Webster said she admitted the offences at the earliest opportunity and only had one previous conviction.
She said McFarlane was “appalled” by her own behaviour and “deeply remorseful”. She said she was addicted to drugs at the time and took the money to feed her habit.
She had grown up in care having lost her mother and grandmother at an early age. She also found life difficult because she had deformities to her hands and feet caused by meningitis.
Ms Webster said she was “crying out for help and intervention”. She also said she threatened to take her own life should she be jailed.
Judge Howard Crowson told McFarlane: “You pretended to be assisting but your motives were obviously selfish.
“You have been preying on a vulnerable victim, preying on him because he was vulnerable.”
He said that while she may have only taken small amounts of cash, on the other hand she “took everything he had”.
As well as jailing her, he gave her an indefinite-length restraining order to keep her away from the victim.