Nine months’ jail for ‘treacherous’ nanny who stole from boss

 
Guilty: Emma Currie stole from her employer Picture: Central News
Central News
Paul Cheston19 June 2015
WEST END FINAL

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The “Mary Poppins” nanny who stole from her Belgravia employer was jailed for nine months at the Old Bailey today for an “earth-shattering breach of trust.”

Emma Currie, 45, was convicted of stealing £900 and attempting to steal another £450 from former Rothschild banker Zoe Appleyard-Ley.

But jurors were unable to reach verdicts on six other charges including the alleged theft of Mrs Appleyard-Ley’s Mercedes and thousands of pounds worth of clothing, ornaments and electrical items.

Prosecutor Geoffrey Porter told the court the Crown would not be seeking a retrial on the outstanding charges.

Mrs Appleyard-Ley entered the witness box to say she could not face putting herself and her children “into the boxing ring again” for a new trial.

In a tearful victim impact statement, Mrs Appleyard-Ley said the pain of Currie’s “betrayal of trust is earth- shattering.” She added: “The courage and bravery of my children despite Currie’s treachery that day of her theft will bring me to tears for as long as I live. She knowingly robbed them of their innocence and faith in human nature from the one place they were safe, their own home, where she had been in a position of absolute trust”.

During the trial the court heard how Currie had allegedly stolen £171,000 of her boss’s jewellery and designer clothing before driving off in her car. She was arrested in the Mercedes, containing some allegedly stolen items, near Gatwick Airport.

Ms Appleyard-Ley once had a two-year relationship with Boris Becker and dated Rory Bremner. The jury heard how she hired Currie from an advert on Gumtree. “She seemed like Mary Poppins in a way,” she told the court.

But just weeks later she realised something was wrong when Currie did not bring her a morning cup of tea in bed and found her jewellery, laptop and iPad were missing and her car had gone. Currie had denied all the allegations. The guilty verdicts were returned last Friday by a 10-2 majority of the jury, but could not be reported until today.

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