Carer jailed after stealing thousands of dollars from Taranaki tetraplegic man

A caregiver who gained access to his bedridden, tetraplegic client's bank account and then fleeced him of thousands of dollars blamed "gambling and lifestyle and attitude issues" for his offending and said he was trying to change.

But a judge was not buying it, pointing out Shane Conrad Heal's history was littered with dishonesty convictions and he was on home detention for dishonesty crimes for part of the time he was ripping off his client.

"The difficulty for someone when the submission is made that they are motivated to change, is looking at a history of 14 previous dishonesty convictions. So the change is coming very slowly, if at all," Judge Gregory Hikaka told Heal in New Plymouth District Court on Friday.

Heal has a range of other convictions, including for raping and bashing a pregnant woman in 2007.

His Friday appearance came two days after his 37th birthday, and ended with him being sent to jail.

Referring to the police summary of facts, Judge Hikaka said Heal was employed to care for the victim, who was suffering the effects of a stroke.

But between October and December 2022, he instead took advantage of the man on several occasions.

Heal cleared the victim's mailbox and kept hold of his bank statement, using the bank details to set up various accounts.

He applied for an online shopping account using the victim's name and bank details, through which he spent about $700.

Heal also paid $1700 of his own IRD bill with the victim's money, used the victim's bank details to set up a direct debit to Slingshot for the amount of $529, and opened a Trustpower account, connecting his home address and two mobile phones, using the victim's name and bank details for payment.

He received a 43-inch television from Trustpower for connecting the account, which he went on to sell for $200.

Then in May 2023, Heal used the victim's phone account to purchase a $591 Bluetooth speaker and register a $13 Neon account.

In court, defence lawyer Nina Laird acknowledged the vulnerability of the victim and submitted Heal was remorseful for his actions.

She said he had written a letter of apology, had expressed a motivation to change and was actively seeking help with his mental health.

While probation's pre-sentence report recommended imprisonment, Laird argued prison would be difficult for him given his mental health issues and home detention would allow him to engage with rehabilitative services.

Police prosecutor Lewis Sutton said he was on the fence in respect to whether a sentence of home detention or prison should be imposed.

Referring to probation's pre-sentence report, Judge Hikaka said Heal was assessed as at high risk of reoffending and that he had told the report writer "gambling and lifestyle and attitude issues" underpinned his offending.

Heal had also told probation his health conditions have been a barrier to making positive changes to his lifestyle.

Judge Hikaka said the offending featured a significant breach of trust, involved a victim who had a high level of vulnerability and occurred over a lengthy period and partly while Heal was serving a sentence for other dishonesty crimes.

While the judge accepted Heal was remorseful and acknowledged he had mental health issues, he was dubious of Heal's claim he was motivated to change.

Judge Hikaka said a community-based sentence would not meet the purposes and principles of the Sentencing Act.

"You cannot go past the extent of your history for similar sort of offending, indeed it is basically a pattern of offending," he said.

"But in this case, it seems the vulnerability of the victim is a huge concern."

On two admitted charges of causing loss by deception, one of which was representative, and one count of taking a document for pecuniary advantage, the judge sentenced Heal to seven months imprisonment and six months of post-detention conditions.

Heal was also ordered to pay reparation.

- This story was first published by theNew Zealand Herald.