A woman hailed as a shining example for community projects for criminals by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill was handed another prison sentence just weeks after being jailed for a year.
Former prostitute Cheryl Ferguson posed with Mr MacAskill in June last year as the minister pledged to end the “vicious circle” of sending repeat offenders back to prison.
Ferguson described Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only all-female jail, as a “holiday camp” as the justice secretary launched a shake-up of how female offenders are dealt with.
But despite being described as a model reformed offender thanks to community sentences, Ferguson is now back behind bars.
In April she received a one-year term after admitting breaching her community payback order by repeatedly failing to turn up for appointments or to do unpaid hours of work.
She had been given 150 hours’ community service after a series of thefts and other offences but failed to comply and was given the jail term after a sheriff’s patience finally ran out.
On Tuesday she appeared once more and was found guilty of stealing a receipt from friend Maureen Tarbett at an address in Lansdowne Court, Dundee, between November 26 and November 29 last year.
Ferguson, 29, of Lansdowne Court, had also denied using that receipt to pretend to an employee at Currys in Kingsway West Retail Park, Dundee, that she was Maureen Tarbett and induced the worker to hand her £229 by fraud.
But after a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alistair Brown convicted her of the two charges and blasted her “lies”.
Solicitor John Boyle said: “Last year she was held up as a shining example ofthese kinds of community projects. She’s not a completely lost cause, despite her record and her drug difficulties. Those have now been addressed.”
Sheriff Brown jailed Ferguson for six months and said: “You took advantage of the friendship that you were offered.
“You stole, you lied to Currys and you obtained money. You used it, no doubt, for your own purposes and certainly didn’t give it back to Maureen Tarbett.
“You put her in the uncomfortable position of being accused of lying to the court and you did so without having the bottle to go in to the witness box and give evidence yourself.
“You are entitled to do that but there’s no shred of remorse evident in your behaviour. The least that is appropriate here is a six-month sentence consecutive to the one you are currently serving.”
During one appearance at Dundee Sheriff Court, Ferguson admitted approaching a man for the purposes of prostitution.
Speaking last year, she told reporters: “Cornton Vale is like a holiday camp. I know people who deliberately committed crimes to get put back in there to be with their friends.
“It had an open-door policy and was an easy ride for most people there it certainly wasn’t a deterrent.”
She added: “Without the Dundee Project, I’d definitely have reoffended and been back inside. I have a mentor who helps keep me straight and looks after me. I get help and advice from her whenever I need it.”