The creator of Rastamouse has avoided a harsh sentence for benefit fraud because a judge's eight-year-old daughter is "a big fan" of the show.
“Not even Da Easy Crew can get him out of this one,” Judge Christopher Hehir remarked in reference to thereggae band featured in the show.
He sentenced author Michael De Souza to 160 hours of community service instead.
De Souza, who created the hit CBeebies stop-motion animated series, admitted to wrongly claiming £3,581.90 in jobseeker’s allowance and £5,186.12 in housing benefit in 2017. He failed to declare that he was earning income from his writing at the same time.
Speaking at Southwark Crown Court, Hehir said that he had been encouraged to sentence De Souza, 64, to community service by his own daughter.
“I’ve got young children and I used to be a fan of Rastamouse,” he explained. “I did tell my eight-year-old daughter, who was a big fan when she was younger, that Mr De Souza was appearing before me, and she wasn’t keen on a custodial sentence."
He continued, “For the avoidance of doubt, I don’t usually run sentences past my young children.”
De Souza created Rastamouse as a series of children’s books in 2004. It was later adapted for CBeebies in 2011.
The show follows the adventures of a reggae band of Rastafarian mice known as Da Easy Crew, who prevent crimes and solve mysteries on behalf of the President of Mouseland.
