A burglar who stole around £24,000 from an autism charity has been ordered to pay back just £693. Mark Farrington, 38, was part of a group that broke into a National Autistic Society centre in Cardiff over a weekend in September 2021, stealing vehicles and laptops.
The charity said the break-in caused “serious distress” to service users, who were left without vital support during the Covid pandemic.
The burglary and its impact
Farrington and others broke into the charity’s site in Splott over the weekend between September 26 and 29, 2021. Staff returned to find doors kicked in, with laptops and other electronic equipment taken. Keys were also taken, and vehicles kept in a compound were driven away in a relay over the course of the weekend.
Police were called and many of the vehicles were retrieved, with only one car left unreplaced. Farrington, of Cypress Street, Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd, was identified and arrested, but the other individuals have not been tracked down. He denied burglary but was found guilty following a trial.
A sentencing hearing last year heard he has 84 previous convictions, of which 31 are related to theft and kindred offences.
Charity describes the impact
Sadie Martin, of the National Autistic Society, said the charity provides support to people between the ages of 19 and 45 and their families both at home and in the community. She said users of the service would struggle without support and tend to be “financially poor”, so many would be in residential care were it not for the support provided by the charity.
Ms Martin added: “On September 28, 2021, staff arrived at our premises to find multiple vehicles had been stolen during the night, the building had been broken into, and a large amount of property taken. The impact of this crime was enormous.”
“We were unable to provide services and were disrupted for six weeks. This would have been even more severe if police were not able to locate many of our vehicles, but police had to conduct forensic work on them and they were not released to us straight away.”
“Following the burglary it was not possible to explain to service users and we were unable to provide services our users are used to. It also had a knock-on effect to the families of our users.”
Ms Martin said the burglary took place at a time when there were Covid restrictions and many of the vehicles taken had been adapted specially for users who were caused “serious distress”.
Sentence and compensation order
Sentencing, Judge Vanessa Francis said: “This was a vital service for so many reasons. This truly was in every sense of the word a mean offence. You and your colleagues saw an easy target and took advantage by stealing a great deal of property of a high value.”
The judge said the defendant had used the delay in the case to his advantage by gaining stability in his life. Farrington was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years. He was ordered to carry out a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 120 hours of unpaid work, and to pay compensation of £500.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Farrington benefited to the tune of £24,449 as a result of his offending but only has assets worth £693. Recorder Mark Cotter KC ordered the defendant to pay the sum of £693 or serve six months imprisonment in default.
