Olivia Tahau: Pimpama mum faces court over Logan crime spree
A Pimpama mother, who went on a crime spree across Logan, is working to turn her life around after a terrible addiction to meth tore her family apart, a court has heard.
Logan
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A Pimpama mother-of-three who went on a crime spree across Logan is now working to turn her life around after a terrible addiction to meth tore her family apart, a court has heard.
Olivia Paerau Tahau, 36, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday to 16 charges including fraud, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and possessing dangerous drugs.
The court heard Tahau, who works as a cleaner, had been on probation when she committed the offences from February 2, 2021, to September 22, 2021.
She was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle in Springwood on March 3 and police alleged she held possession of that car for quite some time before the matter was reported and the car was found.
The court heard Tahau had a history of property offending and she was facing fresh charges for stealing in Kingston on February 11, and again in Pimpama on February 4.
She was also charged with committing fraud and dishonestly making off without paying in Beenleigh on February 24, and in again in Pimpama on March 22.
Tahau’s lawyer told the court his client had been introduced to meth in 2016.
He said Tahau’s partner left her over issues with her substance abuse and relocated to New Zealand with their children.
“Unfortunately that led her down a path where she was using that substance quite frequently, that leads to the offences on her history and before your honour today,” he said.
“She has made significant progress more recently compared to what she has in the past.”
He said she was now subject to random drug tests for her employment as a cleaner and had almost completed her TAFE studies for a social work diploma.
She was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment with immediate parole release.
She was also disqualified from driving for a period of six months.
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