Employee sacked after stealing $1178 of sports gear

A Capricorn Coast mother stole 22 items from the Yeppoon store where she worked, many in the lead-up to Christmas, after her husband lost his job and because she didn’t want their kids to go without. She faced court to get her punishment.

Intersport Yeppoon.

A mother who stole $1178 worth of sports gear from the Yeppoon store where she worked, has been ordered to pay the amount back in full.

Stacey Lea Tolhurst, 35, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court on February 24 to stealing as a servant.

The court heard that Tolhurst’s offending happening between November 1, 2021, and January 29 this year .

During that three-month period, Tolhurst, while employed as a sales assistant at Intersport Yeppoon on Tanby Road, stole 22 items from the store.

“During the course of her employment, she placed a number of items on layby, making a small deposit but then took the items without paying the full purchase price,” Police Prosecutor Clancy Fox said.

“She arrived to work wearing some of the clothing items that had not been paid for...”

As a result of this, Mr Fox said an audit had detected the offences.

He said in a text message exchange with the owner of the business, Tolhurst, who had started working at Intersport two months before her offending, provided a list of the items which she had taken.

That list included a water bottle, waterproof bag, two sets of tights, a number of pairs of shoes, a football protection undershirt, frisbees and a number of other childrens’ items, a soccer ball and a snorkel.

Mr Fox said Tolhurst’s employment at the store was subsequently terminated and the matter was reported to police.

The prosecution sought $1178 restitution for all of the items even though some of them had been returned.

Solicitor Joanne Madden said Tolhurst would accept paying full restitution.

The court heard Tolhurst had no criminal history and Ms Madden said this offending was out of character for her.

Ms Madden said last year, Tolhurst’s husband had lost employment for about four months and that put a lot of strain on them financially.

The solicitor said the majority of items that Tolhurst had taken were childrens’ items in the lead-up to Christmas because she didn’t want her two children missing out.

Ms Madden said Tolhurst was also owed “a sum of some 2000-odd dollars” by the store in unpaid wages and holiday entitlements, which she had taken to Fair Work.

Magistrate Philippa Beckinsale accepted this offending was out of character for Tolhurst.

She placed Tolhurst on six months’ probation with conditions and ordered that restitution of $1178 be paid.

No conviction was recorded.