An Adelaide woman who faked cancer to con a nun and priest into giving her thousands of dollars for treatment has been jailed for more than five years.
Angie Emma Walsh, 40, has a long history of deception and dishonesty offences in South Australia and Western Australia and has received suspended sentences in the past for similar offending.
The court heard the offending against Sister Theresa Swiggs started in 2012, but that Walsh had been "grooming her" for a long time prior.
Sister Swiggs enlisted the help of her parish priest, Father Bill Brady, and her biological sister to assist in funding the medical treatment Walsh claimed to need, giving her a total of $184,151 over two-and-a-half years.
The court heard the nun's sister gave Walsh her life savings and also took out a loan.
Walsh pleaded guilty to 45 deception offences and three offences of dishonestly dealing with documents.
The victims previously told the court they were "utterly devastated" and shocked by the offending.
Magistrate Greg Fisher said Walsh had eroded the trust of good people and the wider community.
"People rely on what they are told by others to be true in our community, it is a foundation for a healthy and efficient community — scammers or people who deceive erode that foundation," Magistrate Fisher said.
Magistrate Fisher said the deception may have the unfortunate effect of preventing others from helping those genuinely in need.
"You are clearly a highly skilled liar and had Sister Swiggs convinced that you were gravely ill and desperately in need of money," Magistrate Fisher said.
"Her life has been ruined, she bears the shame of being deceived by you and the responsibility of exposing her sister and Father Brady to you.
"Your exploitation of Sister Swiggs was a cruel abuse of the trust she placed in you and her genuine desire to help someone in need."
Walsh, who watched the proceedings on a video link from the Adelaide Women's Prison, sat with her head bowed and cried during the hearing.
Money used to pay for holidays
The court heard Walsh had used some of the money donated to her to holiday on the Gold Coast and had also visited Sea World, Dreamworld and Surfers Paradise.
Magistrate Fisher said although Walsh had been diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses including borderline personality disorder, he could place little weight on those reports because the psychiatrists largely relied on what she had told them.
"I'm not confident that psychological or psychiatric treatment is likely to reduce your risk of reoffending in the future," Magistrate Fisher said.
"I consider it likely that you will continue to present a risk of reoffending in the future."
Magistrate Fisher said the victims had been devastated and financially ruined by the offending.
"I cannot overlook the repeated nature of your deception … without empathy for the harm that you were causing."
Magistrate Fisher revoked three suspended sentences Walsh had breached by committing the offending, totalling 37 months imprisonment.
He imposed a new sentence of two years, nine months and 18 days for the latest offending, after giving Walsh discount for her guilty pleas.
The total sentence imposed was five years, 10 months and 18 days with a non-parole period of three years and six months.
Magistrate Fisher ordered Walsh to pay $20,000 compensation, the maximum that can be awarded by the Magistrates Court.
