by Keith Hunt

A trusted employee stole almost £68,000 from a family-run hotel and squandered the lot, a court heard.

Mother-of-two Charlotte Owen first took enough cash to pay the mortgage on her Sittingbourne home, but after finding how easy it was she became more daring.

During the three-year spree, she splashed out on two horses, expensive dogs, a Land Rover Freelander car (similar to that pictured above), hotels for her and her husband in London at Christmas and holidays.

Now, 29-year-old Owen, of Palmerston Walk, Sittingbourne, has been jailed for 18 months after admitting theft.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the gross breach of trust at Hempstead House Hotel and Spa in London Road, Bapchild, had left owner Mandy Holdstock devastated.

She told in a statement how Owen had been a close family friend and her “betrayal” meant the hotel would take many years to recover the financial loss.

Bridget Todd, prosecuting, said Owen’s duties included banking funds from various departments of the hotel.

Alarm bells rang in December last year when a £1,700 deposit for a wedding reception went missing from the safe. It could not be found and the police were called in to investigate.

That evening Owen went to Mrs Holdstock’s private quarters and confessed.

She at first claimed it was the first time she had taken money but then admitted she could have had around £50,000.

Police discovered amounts paid into Owen’s building society account between 2008 and 2011 totalled almost £66,000.

Her home was searched and £1,050 was found on top of a wardrobe, along with expensive equipment.

“She admitted taking the money but could not remember how many times,” said Miss Todd.

“It was to pay for debts and help out with finances, but the temptation grew and she took money for no apparent reason.”

Owen was paid £350 a month and her husband earned £750 a month as a driver for a textile recycling company.

She bought two horses for a total of £1,900 and three puppies, one costing £650. She declined to answer when asked if her husband knew what she was doing.

Judge David Caddick told Owen her employer expected honesty and loyalty.
“This was a whole string of offending over three years,” he added. “It was persistent and not just a momentary lapse giving into temptation.”

Speaking after the sentencing, Mrs Holdstock said she felt Owen’s sentence was “very fair”.

The 57-year-old said: “She has never shown any sufficient remorse to want to try to repay any of the money and that was put across strongly [by judge]. I did feel a sense of betrayal - she had worked at the hotel for four years.

“By the time she admitted the offences I knew she had committed them. I’d worked it out the day before. But when you trust people you put it to the back of your mind. You think you’re thinking ill of someone you trust.

“What prompted the inquiry was an amount of money had gone missing over night from the safe and I had to find out what happened to that.

"The other amounts I didn’t know about, but when you look back and think of the suspicions you didn’t take any further, the pieces of the jigsaw start to fall into place.”

Mrs Holdstock is hoping a compensation order will be made in November for Owen to repay some or all of the money, adding: “We feel that should happen.”

“Nobody should be allowed to get away with any offences without making some sort of recompense.”