A woman's act of kindness in allowing a young mother into her home to change her baby's nappy was rewarded by her wallet being rifled, a court heard yesterday.
The thief, Claudia Dragusin (20), North Circular Road, Dublin, denied ever being in the woman's home but was yesterday convicted and remanded in custody for compensation to be paid to the victim.
Ms Dragusin had "prowled" on and taken advantage of the victim who had done a Christian thing by helping her with the baby, Judge Bridget Reilly said. Dublin District Court heard that Ms Dragusin, carrying a baby in her arms, had knocked on the woman's door in Blackrock on the afternoon of December 7th, 2004.
She was accompanied by a girl and they asked the woman for water for the baby and then asked could they change the baby's nappy.
The victim, who had a six-month-old baby herself, invited them in and while one changed the nappy, the other started looking around the house before then asking to use the toilet. After about 20 minutes, the pair hastily left and the woman noticed her wallet on the floor and €100 she had in it was gone.
She located them a short distance away and told them to give the money back. They said they had no money and when the woman then phoned the Garda, they ran away.
Officers found Ms Dragusin and the girl hiding in a local park. Ms Dragusin denied being in the house and claimed she was "just walking around" when gardaí arrested her.
The court heard her accomplice, who was under 18, had admitted her guilt and had been dealt with under the Garda juvenile diversion scheme.
Ms Dragusin, her husband and three children receive €344 in social welfare per week and is a Romanian national who has residency based on the birth of her children here. She has no previous convictions.