WOMAN STOLE £12,500 FROM FRAIL 88 YEAR OLD PENSIONER

Maureen Mulligan from the Peggy's Loaning area has been described by her victim as a "horror."

Last Wednesday 57-year-old Mulligan pleaded guilty to ten charges, including one count of theft, six counts of money laundering and three of deception dating back from January 2004 until February 2007.

The Leader can now reveal the shocking details of the horrendous abuse of trust case which saw a vulnerable pensioner, who is crippled with debilitating pains, robbed of her life-savings.

Furthermore, the victim feels deeply let down by the judicial system, after Mulligan walked from Newry Crown Court with a one year suspended jail term and a compensation order for just 2,500.

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Berkshire born Joyce Porter who is badly stooped over and can only shuffle around with the help of a walking aid, told the Leader how she came to Banbridge from Australia in 1990 to "grow old" and live out the rest of her days in peace and tranquillity, but as a result of meeting Mulligan has "lost all trust in fellow mankind."

After be-friending her neighbour Mulligan, Joyce said her life was turned upside down and she was plunged into some kind of a "living nightmare".

Joyce, who has travelled the world and has not one single relative left, came to live at the Seventh Day Adventist house on the Newry Road, Banbridge in 1990.

There she met Mulligan who, at the beginning, appeared to be "honest, helpful and very friendly."

Joyce said, "Nothing was a bother for her. She was so good to me, running errands and taking me out and about. I trusted her and I liked her. If I heard a noise at 2am outside I would ring Maureen and she was right there. She appeared so nice and I depended on her."

However, after some time, Joyce recalled how Mulligan approached her asking for withdrawl vouchers.

Joyce explained, "She was getting me errands up the town every couple of days so she came to me and asked me to give her a couple of cheques so it would save me giving her 10 here and 10 there. Being naive I never thought anything sinister would happen. I thought she was my friend helping me get a bit of shopping."

As weeks turned to months, eventually the truth came out that Mulligan had been writing cheques for her own gain, using two accounts belonging to Joyce.

Asked why it took so long for her to realise something was wrong, Joyce replied, "Mulligan was very clever, she deceived me. I was a vulnerable pensioner who trusted my friend."

Speaking just hours after Mulligan pleaded guilty, Joyce said the conviction "means nothing to me."

"I'm so sick now and frail. I am in constant agony so money is not important. I have nothing, I have no family and I have lost all trust in fellow mankind."

She added, "Maureen Mulligan does not have a heart. What she did to me and the memories I have ruin my mood every day."

Joyce is full of praise for the Banbridge PSNI who successfully brought the case to court, and indeed for the entire care team at Spelga Mews, where she now lives.

"The staff here are lovely, they are all I have".

The one year jail term was suspended for three years, and Mulligan was given six months to pay the compensation order. If she fails to do so the direct alternative is three months in prison. She also received nine suspended three month jail terms for the other nine offences. These sentences are to run concurrently

Judge Finnegan also imposed a confiscation order at last Wednesday's Crown Court sitting in Newry. This means if Mulligan comes into money in the future she can be pursued for further compensation.