London - These days it’s not unusual for young women to photograph themselves in their glad rags and post the pictures on Facebook - probably in the hope of getting a few compliments from friends.
But Pascale Sherwin’s selfies weren’t only self-indulgent - they were downright sinister too.
For the 23-year-old nanny brazenly posed for photos wearing designer clothes and jewellery she had stolen from the family who employed her.
Bizarrely she apparently did not restrict access to the pictures - so it wasn’t long before they found her out. Now Sherwin has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service after admitting theft.
It all started when mother-of-one Becki Cannings noticed that items were disappearing from her wardrobe.
But not for a minute did she think that Sherwin was involved. The nanny had become part of the family after she was taken on to care for her baby daughter Olivia.
When clothes continued to vanish, Mrs Cannings’ mother thought to look at Sherwin’s Facebook profile - when everything became clear.
Sherwin had even tagged Mrs Cannings in some of the pictures, meaning she had listed her employer as appearing in the photos.
Speaking after Sherwin’s sentencing at Exeter Crown Court, Mrs Cannings, 29, said: “Every week random things were going missing. It really started getting to me and I thought I was going mad. I started to make a list and realised just how much was going missing.
“I feel stupid but I never once considered it would be her.”
Recalling when she saw the photos for the first time, Mrs Cannings said: “I felt physically sick. In her profile picture she was wearing all of my clothes and was doing so in several others. I was even tagged in them. I don’t know if she was just stupid or rubbing my nose in it.
“I have never felt so violated and my whole world came tumbling down.”
However, it was not easy for Mrs Cannings and husband Bradley, 40, to bring Sherwin to justice - even with access to the Facebook photos. Police initially told them that the pictures did not provide enough evidence of criminality.
Undeterred, the couple set up four hidden cameras in their house which captured the nanny stealing over a three-day period.
Officers were then able to arrest Sherwin after searching her home in Exeter, where they found the missing items.
The couple first met Sherwin in November 2011 when she was working at a creche in a fitness centre. Within weeks she offered to help care for Olivia, now aged two, on a part-time basis.
The couple decided to vet her through official channels and discovered she was “professionally trained” and “highly regarded”. Mrs Cannings said: “She just seemed like a lovely girl and would update us hourly by text of photos of her with Olivia.
“By the summer she was working longer, we had upped her pay and she had all the freedom in the world. She helped me get ready on the morning of my wedding and was at my daughter’s naming ceremony. She became part of the family.”
She continued: “Viewing the video footage was like sitting down to watch a horror movie.
“Within five minutes we caught her stealing a cardigan and putting it in her bag.
“We allowed her to build a relationship with our daughter and be part of her everyday life. This was the ultimate betrayal.”
Mr Cannings, who owns an electrical engineering firm, added: “It makes my blood boil that she has not even apologised. But she will have to live with a criminal record.” - Daily Mail