The founder of a café which supports sexual abuse survivors has said her “devastated but resilient” team has come back “stronger than ever” after a former employee was jailed for stealing almost £2,000 from the social enterprise.
Led by Cheyenne O’Connor, The Butterfly Café opened its doors to islanders in July 2023 with a mission to provide job opportunities and workplace training to islanders who have experienced abuse, as well as access to ongoing, survivor-led services, such as peer-support group meetings, training, a helpline, a job shop and advocacy assistance.
Among those to have been employed from the beginning was Kelly Louise Vallois (40) – also known as Kelly Mills – whose responsibilities included baking cakes, cashing up and ordering stock.
However, after falling into rental arrears and struggling to pay for her car, Vallois began pocketing money from the business.
Caught on CCTV
Legal adviser Harrison Gollop, prosecuting, told the Magistrate’s Court yesterday that she had been spotted on CCTV on several occasions, which formed the basis of her conviction.
Sometimes, she took money from the till. On other occasions, she failed to put money taken from customers into the till.
A check of the companies accounts revealed that money had gone missing – and Vallois resigned when the thefts emerged around a year later.
The captured thefts amounted to £1,927, the court heard.
Defending Vallois, Advocate Allana Binnie explained that the stolen money had not been spent on luxuries. One expense she had faced was medicinal cannabis for an anxiety disorder.
She said that Vallois, who was “undergoing a great deal of pressure in various areas of her life” at the time, “clearly wasn’t thinking straight”.
“Deeply ashamed”
However, Advocate Binnie noted that she wasn’t seeking to “excuse her actions”. Feeling “deeply ashamed”, Vallois had written a letter of remorse and wanted to “give back to the community”.
Noting that Vallois was at low risk of reconviction, she argued for a community service order or suspended jail sentence.
Vallois, who had pleaded guilty early, had already sold her car to help pay any fine she might face, the Advocate said.
But Magistrate Bridget Shaw said that the type of theft she had engaged in was “so serious that I cannot avoid a custodial sentence” – though she did impose a shorter term of just three months as an “act of mercy”.
“This business [The Butterfly Café] is different in a very important way,” the Magistrate told Vallois.
“It is not here to make money. It is here to support people and employ people who have been through terrible times in their own lives.”
“We began to blame ourselves”
Following the sentencing, Ms O’Connor shared how the thefts had impacted the whole Butterfly Café team.
“In spite of paying customers, events, and generous donations throughout 2024, the café was month on month failing to generate a surplus, she said.
“Despite our best efforts, it made no sense financially, and we began to blame ourselves.
“We cannot emphasise enough how close we were to closing our doors because of the financial impact this theft had on us.”
However, “despite everything, we’ve come back stronger than ever”, Ms O’Connor continued.
“The team has worked tirelessly, and we’ve started seeing profits. The Butterfly girls are devastated but resilient.
“We will all do our absolute best to build our funds back up. We couldn’t do it without your continued support.”
“We’re excited to see what this year holds”
Giving particular thanks to Magistrate Bridget Shaw and Paul Lovesey of the Financial Crime Unit, who “worked tirelessly to ensure we saw some form of justice”, Ms O’Connor added: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who’s supported us through this difficult time, whether financially, or emotionally.
“We have been unable to discuss this ongoing investigation for the past six months, which has been difficult, but we hope people can now understand what our situation was.
“With the worst behind us, we’re excited to see what this year holds.”
Vallois has been ordered to pay back the money within four weeks of her release from jail.