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THERECORD.COM | INSIDER | Judge gives deaf-mute woman a break
A Cambridge woman who can't hear or talk went door-to-door soliciting donations for a fake charity because she and her common-law husband had no money, a judge heard yesterday.
Wendy Louise Robinson, 40, needed money for food, her lawyer, Harold Cox, said outside court.
The deaf-mute woman wrote "guilty'' on a piece of paper to several charges: two counts of defrauding the public by soliciting for a false charity, and two counts of obstructing police by giving a false name.
Kitchener's Ontario Court heard Robinson went door-to-door in a tony Waterloo neighbourhood on Feb. 22 and 23.
She showed residents a sign that stated she was Barbara Ristau and that she was seeking donations for a one-week session with Encounters with Canada at a special deaf Olympics in Ottawa.
Those willing to donate wrote their names on a pledge sheet that had a registration number that wasn't associated with any real charity.
A resident on Old Abbey Road grew suspicious and called police. Through notes, Robinson gave an officer a false name and address and a false name for a representative of the fake charity.
Police seized five pages of pledge sheets signed by 85 victims. Pledges totalled $946. She was found with $214 cash.
Robinson was released, then went out again two days later, court heard. On Feb. 25, she canvassed in a Kitchener neighbourhood. Numerous people called police.
She was found on Bradley Avenue with $67 in cash.
Her lawyer said Robinson and her boyfriend, John Doyle, who is also deaf-mute, are "a very needy couple.''
Doyle now has a job in a motel, Cox said.
"They were experiencing a great deal of financial hardship,'' he told Justice Colin Westman.
"This is an opportunity for the state to help this very needy woman at this time.''
Robinson, who has three children from a prior relationship, divorced 18 years ago, Cox said. She once held factory jobs. He said her main desire in life is to find a permanent job.
The Crown prosecutor sought a short jail term because Robinson used her disability to appeal to peoples' emotions for her own gain. He also noted that she repeated the crime two days after being caught the first time.
Robinson spent 11 days in jail before her case came to court. Westman decided that was enough and put her on a year's probation.
"I hope . . . the point has been made that regardless of how tragic your life may be . . . you will understand you have to somehow learn to deal with your difficulties in life in another appropriate and legal manner,'' Westman said.
"I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you and your boyfriend struggling with a disability,'' he added.
Robinson was assisted in the courtroom by a captionist for the deaf who typed the proceedings on a screen that Robinson could read.
A Cambridge woman who can't hear or talk went door-to-door soliciting donations for a fake charity because she and her common-law husband had no money, a judge heard yesterday.
Wendy Louise Robinson, 40, needed money for food, her lawyer, Harold Cox, said outside court.
The deaf-mute woman wrote "guilty'' on a piece of paper to several charges: two counts of defrauding the public by soliciting for a false charity, and two counts of obstructing police by giving a false name.
Kitchener's Ontario Court heard Robinson went door-to-door in a tony Waterloo neighbourhood on Feb. 22 and 23.
She showed residents a sign that stated she was Barbara Ristau and that she was seeking donations for a one-week session with Encounters with Canada at a special deaf Olympics in Ottawa.
Those willing to donate wrote their names on a pledge sheet that had a registration number that wasn't associated with any real charity.
A resident on Old Abbey Road grew suspicious and called police. Through notes, Robinson gave an officer a false name and address and a false name for a representative of the fake charity.
Police seized five pages of pledge sheets signed by 85 victims. Pledges totalled $946. She was found with $214 cash.
Robinson was released, then went out again two days later, court heard. On Feb. 25, she canvassed in a Kitchener neighbourhood. Numerous people called police.
She was found on Bradley Avenue with $67 in cash.
Her lawyer said Robinson and her boyfriend, John Doyle, who is also deaf-mute, are "a very needy couple.''
Doyle now has a job in a motel, Cox said.
"They were experiencing a great deal of financial hardship,'' he told Justice Colin Westman.
"This is an opportunity for the state to help this very needy woman at this time.''
Robinson, who has three children from a prior relationship, divorced 18 years ago, Cox said. She once held factory jobs. He said her main desire in life is to find a permanent job.
The Crown prosecutor sought a short jail term because Robinson used her disability to appeal to peoples' emotions for her own gain. He also noted that she repeated the crime two days after being caught the first time.
Robinson spent 11 days in jail before her case came to court. Westman decided that was enough and put her on a year's probation.
"I hope . . . the point has been made that regardless of how tragic your life may be . . . you will understand you have to somehow learn to deal with your difficulties in life in another appropriate and legal manner,'' Westman said.
"I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you and your boyfriend struggling with a disability,'' he added.
Robinson was assisted in the courtroom by a captionist for the deaf who typed the proceedings on a screen that Robinson could read.