Cleaner caught on camera stealing money from pockets and bags

A cleaner who was caught rifling through a teenager's room for cash has been spared jail.
Maria Preston, 44, was filmed searching through the home of her customers and pocketing the money while working as a cleaner known as 'Gloria'.
The jury at Chelmsford Crown Court were shown shocking footage of Preston rooting around a teenage girl's underwear drawers to pilfer cash, jewellery and even lipsticks.
Two of her victims, John McNeill and Andrea Smith, appeared in court to give evidence and hear the sentence.
A CCTV camera was set up by the couple when they grew suspicious when their belongings were 'out of place'.
They said they were put in touch with Preston after receiving a recommendation from friends.
Speaking in court, the couple said: 'We needed a cleaner as we had our own business, working 12 hour days seven days a week.
'Initially she worked eight hours a week in June and July 2015, which then reduced to four hours once a week.
'Towards the end of 2015 there were a few times we had noticed things were out of place.
'Our teenage daughter would say that she thought she had more money than she had left in her room, little things like not being able to find her lipsticks.
'Then the person who initially recommended her to us, approached us and said he had evidence of Gloria stealing cash from his family home.
'After contacting the police we set up our own CCTV surveillance at home, in various rooms before Gloria’s next visit.
'We couldn’t believe our eyes. We had footage of her searching through all our personal belongings upstairs and downstairs.
'The worst part of all was seeing her stealing money from our daughter’s purse and hand bag, even going through her underwear drawers.
'Any parent would be sickened by this behaviour.
'She was also seen stealing cash from other areas of the house, checking lottery tickets for winning numbers, even reading personal letters.
'After checking through the house, we also realised that an antique gold necklace had been stolen, which was a gift from Andrea’s parents and held sentimental value.
'We trusted Gloria with the keys to our home, she abused our trust and has shown no remorse for her actions.'
Preston, of Clacton, Essex, admitted four counts of theft but a hearing was held to establish the facts.
She was convicted of stealing cash and jewellery totalling £6,180 from homes in Clacton between 2014 and early 2016.
The judge said the witnesses were of good standing, worthy of credit and where their version differed from the defendant’s, he accepted the witnesses’ evidence.
He imposed a two year prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.