Samantha Azzopardi hit with more charges in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court
Samantha Azzopardi, the notorious au pair accused of stealing two children from a Bendigo home, has been hit with almost 50 extra charges, such as impersonating a nurse.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Accused child stealer Samantha Azzopardi has been hit with dozens of charges for allegedly posing as an au pair and nurse, as well as making a false report about “child welfare concerns and physical assaults”.
Ms Azzopardi, 31, appeared via video link in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court today, wearing a blue top and her brown hair in a bun.
It was the first time she had appeared in court after being nabbed with two girls, aged 10 months and four years, in Bendigo’s Myer store on November 1.
Police initially charged Ms Azzopardi with two counts of child stealing, stating a false name and having stolen goods but have since slapped her with almost 50 extra charges.
It includes 26 counts of dishonestly obtaining $250 a week while posing as “a suitably qualified au pair in the name of Harper Hernandez” between December 8 last year and June 6 this year.
She is also accused of pretending to be a nurse named Sakah, who dishonestly obtained a school hat, dress and jumper by claiming her patient needed her former school uniform to perform a presentation.
Court documents show Ms Azzopardi is also accused of making a false report about “an act, child welfare concerns and physical assaults” that required a police investigation.
Other charges relate to the theft of an iPad worth $599 and possessing “identification evidence”.
In bizarre scenes, she sat so close to the video link camera this morning that Magistrate Patrick Southey had to ask her to sit back in her chair.
She also remained silent when Mr Southey asked whether she understood the proceedings, and later if she could hear him.
“Can you say something, Ms Azzopardi? Can you hear us?” he said.
Mr Southey ordered that the video link into courtroom six be disconnected after just three minutes, saying: “I’m pretty confident she knows she’s not going anywhere today.”
Ms Azzopardi’s lawyer Alex McLennan told the court that he had only received the police brief this morning and asked that the case be adjourned.
MORE NEWS:
PROPERTY DEVELOPER GRILLED OVER $15K DONATION
OVERLAND STEPS AWAY AS WHITTLESEA COUNCIL BOSS
SENIOR JUSTICE FIGURES MAKE SUDDEN EXIT
The 31-year-old had failed to appear at two previous court hearings after she was admitted to hospital in the wake of her arrest.
Having refused to co-operate with police, she was ordered to give police a DNA sample and have her photo taken.
Police told the court that a “lot of outstanding matters would possibly be resolved if she was forced to provide that information.”
Ms Azzopardi will reappear in court on January 9 next year.