Man steals over £150k from children’s holiday club

Sunday 16 June 2019

A Glasgow man has admitted stealing £151,000 from a local children’s charity over a period of more than two-and-a-half years in the Royal Court.

William McDermott (60) pleaded ‘guilty’ on Friday morning to a total of 23 charges relating to funds held by Rouge Bouillon School Ace of Clubs, which provides after school and holiday care for primary school children.

He will now be sentenced by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court in August.

Advocate James Bell, representing McDermott, made what Lieutenant-Bailiff Anthony Olsen described as “a spirited attempt” to secure bail for his client, arguing that he had been fully co-operative with Police, presented no risk of re-offending, had been resident in Jersey for more than 30 years and was currently in employment in Jersey.

Pictured: McDermott has been remanded in custody until he is sentenced in the Royal Court in August.

However, Lieutenant-Bailiff Olsen, sitting with Jurats Pitman and Hughes, told McDermott that the position was straightforward under the Court’s policy of remanding in custody defendants who had admitted charges which were likely to result in a period of imprisonment.

Crown Advocate Richard Pedley had previously told the Court that the nature of the offences meant that “it seems almost inevitable” that the Crown would be seeking a term of imprisonment in August. He said that there were no special circumstances which should lead the Court now to grant bail.

Lieutenant-Bailiff Olsen agreed that there was no reason to depart from the established policy and he remanded McDermott in custody for sentencing on 23 August.