Woman Receives Suspended Sentence for Charity Theft

A 10-month suspended prison sentence has been handed down to a woman who stole £10,500 from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Niamh Bonner, aged 54, residing at Central Drive in Londonderry, confessed to the theft of the funds, which occurred between August 2018 and December 2019 while she served as the treasurer for AA in the city. During proceedings at Londonderry Crown Court, it was revealed that Bonner had taken money from the charity to assist her daughter, who faced threats from paramilitaries to be shot due to an outstanding debt of £20,000. Judge Neil Rafferty KC stated that despite Bonner’s actions constituting a breach of trust, there was no indication that she had personally benefited from the theft. The court heard that Bonner’s responsibilities as treasurer included the recording and depositing of donations received by the charity. The misappropriation of funds commenced in 2018, remaining undiscovered until late 2019. A committee was established by the charity to investigate the situation, and Bonner was subsequently requested to provide an explanation for the missing funds. Bonner admitted her culpability, informing the charity that her daughter had accumulated a debt of approximately £20,000 with a paramilitary organization. This led to her daughter receiving a visit at her residence from individuals described by Bonner as “aggressive and abusive,” who issued threats to shoot her if the debt was not settled. Bonner resorted to stealing the money to aid her daughter and committed to repaying it through instalments, but she ceased making payments after having returned £1,890. The court was informed that police intervention occurred at that point. Judge Neil Rafferty commented that in her endeavor to assist her daughter, who was in “an extreme position,” Bonner had progressively found herself “deeper and deeper in a hole.” He noted that the duration over which the offense transpired aggravated the case, but emphasized that the defendant “derived no benefit” from the theft. A sentence of 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of three years, was imposed by him. Judge Rafferty stated his decision not to issue a compensation order, explaining that doing so would likely lead to Bonner’s failure.