BY KEITH LACEY
A woman who went to jail for helping a man kidnap a young girl in the 1990s was found guilty this week of assisting a friend in another crime.
Claire Leduc, 38 called a ?follower? by her lawyer, has followed a female accomplice to jail.
The two women cleaned out the apartment of a Sudbury man who had been arrested and placed behind bars for assisting in the suicide of his lifelong partner in May.
Leduc pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property and breaching court orders Wednesday. She was given a 15-day jail sentence by Justice William Fitzgerald.
Court heard the women gained entry into the apartment the day after the occupant had been arrested and helped themselves to pots, dishes,
electronics equipment and even a pet budgie and cage.
The co-accused in this case, Kelly Laroue, was given a four-month jail sentence and long period of probation for her role in the thefts.
Laroue had convinced Leduc that the man they were stealing from had stolen from her, and she was simply getting back property that was rightfully hers, said defence lawyer Terry Waltenbury.
Assistant Crown attorney Phillip Zylberberg said the women convinced the building?s superintendent they were going into the apartment to clean it. ?Instead they cleaned it out.?
Taking advantage of a man who they knew would likely spend some time in jail is disturbing, said Zylberberg.
A tearful Leduc said she?s been trying to turn her life around and is accepting help from the Elizabeth Fry Society.
She turned over all the items that had been taken as soon as police confronted her and she is remorseful for her actions, she said.
She has been ordered by the courts to stay away from Laroue and she will, she said.
Fitzgerald said the Crown had every right to ask for an extended jail sentence, however, despite Leduc?s criminal past, a sentence of three to six months would be excessive in this case.
Fitzgerald said he would not order any further period of probation as it?s clear Leduc has difficulty following court orders and it?s now up to her to keep her life on track and stay out of trouble.
In the late 1990s, Leduc was given a five-year penitentiary term after pleading guilty to assisting a man, Jacques Auclair, in kidnapping a young girl after a night of drinking, and bringing her to an isolated camp out in St. Charles.
The young girl broke free from the camp and police found her wandering alone in the bush in the freezing cold wearing only a nightgown and slippers.
Auclair was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl and was given an 11-year penitentiary term.
