A WOMAN who selfishly stole several thousand pounds from an 86-year-old Haslemere man, was sentenced to a total of two years' imprisonment on Wednesday at Guildford Crown Court. Lucy Anne Olivia Charman, 54, described by police as "every inch the Home Counties woman," defrauded her victim, Robert Howkins, by forging his signature on cheques while left in charge of his finances. The offences took place only eight months after she received a suspended sentence for stealing from a previous employer. The court was told how Charman, who now lives in rented accommodation in Liss, was a lifelong friend of her victim and had referred to him as "uncle Bob" before squandering his savings. She had pleaded guilty to three counts of obtaining money by deception and theft at the court last month, freely admitting to spending Mr Howkins' money. Some £700 of the cash was spent on a car repair bill and £49 with Sky TV. The remainder was withdrawn from cashpoint machines on a daily basis. Only eight months before these offences occurred, Charman had been given an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years, by Salisbury Crown Court for 16 counts of theft. In court in December 2004, she pleaded guilty to stealing £140,000 from her employer, Upper Woodford Farm near Salisbury. Charman had been employed part-time as a farm secretary in 1999 and was gradually given total control of the farm accounts. Caroline Carberry, for the prosecution, explained that Mr Howkins suffers from a benign tremor in his left hand, making it difficult to sign cheques. "As part of the investigation, police showed him copies of the cheques written out by Mrs Charman, but he denied signing them, pointing out that the signature used was one which he would never use," she told the court. After suffering a fall at his house in July last year, Mr Howkins was admitted to hospital and entrusted his possessions to Charman. During his weeks in hospital, he asked Charman to keep an eye on his flat and handed over his Natwest cheque book and debit/credit card. When he needed to write a cheque, he asked her to bring in the cheque book, but every time there was an excuse. He eventually became suspicious and got bank statements sent to him in hospital. After discovering that large sums of money had left his account, one for as much as £3,900, Mr Howkins informed the police. Dc Gary Stannard, the arresting officer in the case, had said previously that Charman was "fully aware" of her actions, claiming that she had taken the money as part of an arranged funeral plan for Mr Howkins, something of which he was unaware. The court also heard how Charman had claimed that some of the money was withdrawn to bring his account below the threshold for social services. Dc Stannard said the savings didn't come close to the threshold. "She told me that because his hand was shaking so badly at the time, he had asked her to forge his signature," he said. Mr Howkins now lives in sheltered accommodation and was described as "frail". His circle of friends had included the offender's father, Hubert Forde. In early 2005, he began to receive more visits from Charman to help him with his financial matters. She began talking to him about putting money aside for a funeral plan, although he has no recollection of any such arrangements. Dc Stannard added that it had become "quite clear" that the cheques had been credited to accounts in the name of Lucy Charman. She was arrested on October 5, 2005. "I carried out a check of her property and found numerous papers relating to Mr Howkins' affairs," he said. "She had copies of his bank statements and cheque books and she had keys to his flat and some various items of his from his flat, such as pieces of jewellery. "When informed that it wasn't actually the wish of Mr Howkins for her to remove the money and that she had to return it to his account, she looked sheepishly down at the table and said that she couldn't because she had spent it all." Brian Stork, for the defence, said she had always intended to pay the money back but had, in her own words, "frittered it away on day-to-day living". She had tried to back up her stories by getting a quote from a funeral director in Haslemere, even going as far as to write Mr Howkins a letter mentioning the "funeral arrangements" that they had supposedly discussed. In light of Charman's previous conviction and the fact that she had re-offended during her suspended sentence, His Honour Judge Stewart was adamant that a custodial sentence should be given. While she sat with her head bowed in the dock, he described the offences as "mean and selfish" and said she had taken advantage of Mr Howkins, a man she had known all her life. "It was a complete breach of trust," he said. "You stole his money simply to help yourself." For being in breach of her suspended sentence imposed by Salisbury Crown Court, Charman was ordered to serve 18 months. For two counts of theft, she received six months' imprisonment to run concurrently, and for obtaining property by deception, she received three months, also to run concurrently.
