A Sudbury woman will serve one year of house arrest and one year with a curfew after she defrauded a local daycare of $202,890.
Cindy-Lynn Boyd, 43, told a Sudbury court June 3 that she was trying to provide for her family, a father with advancing health issues who has since passed away, and a husband enduring ill health. Boyd is also facing health issues and has been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD.
“At the time, it was about the need to support my family, to allow me to ensure I could provide food and shelter for them,” Boyd told Justice Lawrence Klein. “I was hoping to not let my kids go through what I did.”
Assistant Crown attorney Jamie Rivard and Boyd’s defence lawyer Michael Michel had suggested a one-year sentence, along with two years of probation order and a stand-alone restitution order.
After speaking with Boyd, and taking part of the afternoon to make his decision, Klein instead chose to sentence Boyd to two years of conditional sentencing: one year of house arrest and one year with a curfew, among other regulations.
In his decisions, Klien said sentencing is “a very individualized process,” of examining the offenses, but also the offender.
“We also try to understand their life and their likelihood of reoffending — that's a real crystal ball exercise, but we try to see if they're gonna be frequent fliers in our court,” said Klein. “I think it's very safe to say I don’t perceive you as a frequent flier, more than ever now I understand a bit more about your personal circumstances.”
Klein also imposed a stand-alone restitution order for $102,890.52, as the the balance of the $202,590.52 Boyd stole, $100,000 had been covered by the Larch Street Kids’ insurance plan. Rivard told the court that Larch Street Kids would be suing Boyd in civil court.
In order to avoid jail time, Boyd had hoped to pay restitution of $40,000 in restitution to Larch Street Kids, the total amount she was seeking as part of a WSIB appeal. That appeal was denied, and as Boyd is currently on Ontario Works, caring for her husband and two children. Michel said it would be difficult for her to pay the amount back.
Michel also told the judge that jail time would negatively affect Boyd’s progress since she was charged with fraud over $5,000, disconnecting her from her family and the counselling she was undergoing to deal with the effects of intergenerational trauma and abuse she had suffered — her grandfather was a residential school survivor.
“All that being said, she is prepared to go next door (to Sudbury District Jail) today because… she knows that what took place was wrong,” said Michel. “She knows that what took place has had a significant effect on the vulnerable in our community, and she's prepared to accept responsibility for her actions.”
But Klein did not send Boyd to jail, and while he noted he does not condone her actions, “they were criminal” he did have empathy. “Your motive was flawed, but family-oriented, and I understand that,” he said.
Klein also noted he did not think there was a need for jail, as “I don't think I have to separate you from the rest of society.”
Though not what the Crown and defence had submitted to the judge for sentencing, Rivard told the court the decision was well-reasoned.
“I think we've achieved what we wanted to achieve here,” she said. “And I don't think that we'll ever see Miss Boyd (in court) again.”
Jenny Lamothe covers court for Sudbury.com
