The once-trusted coach of a youth marching team shattered the faith of young members and their parents when she stole thousands of dollars from the fundraising kitty.
Jodie Wastney’s deception left the Ashton Kilties under-13 marching team heartbroken and confused about why they couldn’t attend an event they had worked so hard to fund.
The $3280 she siphoned from the team’s account, which police were able to trace, was raised to help the team travel to the South Island Championships and a national competition.
Instead, police said Wastney used the money to buy groceries and go shopping.
The fraud also ended the team, which has since dissolved, one parent said.
The parent of a special needs child, who she said was destined to become among the first in the country with her disability to compete at national level, broke down in tears at today’s sentencing as she spoke of the impact of the deceit.
“My daughter was making history as the first girl with Down syndrome to compete in marching.
“It gave her a strong sense of motivation and focus, but then, everything began to unravel,” the parent said in her victim impact statement.
She said as her daughter’s protector and advocate, who made sure she had opportunities, she felt she had failed her daughter, and remained guilt-ridden for not seeing sooner what was happening.
Another who spoke on behalf of her daughter, who was 11 at the time, said what should have been one of the proudest moments of her childhood had become the most damaging.
“The coach, Jodie, was not just someone who had access to money, she was an adult in a position of authority, responsibility and trust.
“The team, including my daughter, were taught to look up to this person, to respect her and to believe they were safe under her leadership.
“That trust was deliberately abused,” the parent said.
She said it was “not just about money”, but about hopes, dreams, pride, teamwork and the belief that if you work hard and do the right thing, adults will protect you, not exploit you.
Wastney, 48, also known as Jodie Jenkins, was caught after the team treasurer blew the whistle on her.
She is now serving five months’ community detention on a charge she admitted of theft by a person in a special relationship after being sentenced in the Nelson District Court today.
She was also ordered to pay $3280 in reparation as the best way to show her remorse, Judge Tony Snell said in sentencing her.
Wastney arrived at court in April, set to defend the charges but pleaded guilty instead.
Defence lawyer Elizabeth Bulger said Wastney’s plea, although late, saved the court and victims a two to three-day judge-alone trial as scheduled.
She acknowledged that might be only small comfort for the marching community.
Judge Snell noted Wastney’s “late expression of remorse” but mostly that she had “expressed defiance” throughout the process, including her failure to appear in court on a scheduled date and comments made in a pre-sentence report.
Wastney began coaching the team at the start of April 2023.
When she began coaching, she created the team’s bank account and gave parents details to deposit funds.
Police said a large amount of cash was also given directly to Wastney.
The children and their parents then started a fundraising appeal for the team to travel to the South Island and national competitions.
They arranged stalls, barbecues, raffles, and sponsorships. The parents were also required to pay a $250 registration fee into the same bank account, police said.
They said analysis of the relevant bank accounts showed that between June and November 2023, Wastney made 26 transactions of no more than $250 a time from the account, totalling $3280.
Police said Wastney spent the money at retail and food shops.
However, there was no record of exactly how much as she never provided correct up-to-date receipts to the treasurers.
One parent said in her victim impact statement the offending did not happen in isolation.
“There were warning signs that at the time I ignored because I trusted Jodie.
“I feel deeply stupid saying that now.”
Judge Snell said the victims’ statements revealed an “overwhelming sense of betrayal” and the children who had once looked up to Wastney had been “profoundly affected”.
He also noted Wastney’s lack of history with the courts, and how she was someone who had led a “pretty good life” and contributed to the community, only to have it end on this note.
“There’s no coming back from this,” Judge Snell said.
Wastney was also sentenced on additional, unrelated charges she admitted last year after an incident while travelling in a car with her family.
Wastney, under the name Jodie Jenkins, had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and assault, after an incident in October last year when she was a passenger in a car driven by her husband, who has also faced court action, police said.
Jenkins demanded her husband stop the car so that she could get out, but he allegedly refused.
She then hit him on the arm with the back of her closed fist and pulled on the handbrake.
The vehicle lost traction and the tyres skidded on a one-lane bridge they were crossing at the time.
The husband pulled over once they were across the bridge and the altercation was alleged to have continued, police said.
On the driving charge, Wastney was disqualified for six months. She was also sentenced to 12 months’ supervision on the assault charge.
