Kaitāia woman charged with stealing from disability charity can be named as Toddy Shepherd

Kaitāia woman Toddy Shepherd has been charged with stealing more than $100,000 from national disability support charity CCS Disability Action.

A Kaitāia woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a national disability support charity can be named after losing an appeal to keep her name suppressed.

Toddy Shepherd, appeared in the Kaitāia District Court on March 29, charged with six representative charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, and one of obtaining by deception.

The charges, involving just over $103,000, relate to alleged offending between 2012 and 2015 while she worked for CCS Disability Action as Honongo Rāwhiti regional manager.

Shepherd had been granted interim name suppression at an earlier appearance, when she denied the charges and elected trial by a judge alone. The matter had been transferred to the Auckland District Court, but she appeared in Kaitāia again in March.

Judge John McDonald declined an application for continued name suppression on March 29, and remanded her on bail. Shepherd then appealed the decision to the High Court.

Judge McDonald then granted interim name suppression until the appeal had been heard in the High Court.

The appeal was heard in the High Court at Whangārei on May 14 before Justice Christine Gordon.

In her decision released today Justice Gordon dismissed the appeal, meaning Shepherd can now be named.

The alleged offending was from elsewhere in the country and allegedly happened two years before being employed in her current role as academy director for the Sweet As trade training course run by Kaitāia's He Korowai Trust. She was charged after being employed by the trust.