Anne Elizabeth Dalton was a public servant in charge of provided domestic abuse victims with emergency funding. This week, she appeared in court, after being accused of using the funds to gamble at various venues across the country. Dalton was found guilty of 271 counts of fraud. She had submitted 271 applications for emergency funding on behalf of victims of domestic abuse.
The total of all the applications was more than $100 000, and she applied for amounts of up to $500 at a time. The money was supposed to be allocated to individuals who needed to escape from their abusive partners, but Dalton spent the money on her gambling addiction. Her defense lawyer, John Lyons, claimed that her gambling addiction developed as a result of stress.
Her job required her to deal with aggressive and violent individuals on a daily basis, and she viewed gambling as a way to escape the harsh reality of her profession. "On many occasions she had to deal with aggressive, violent and abusive members of the public," he said. According to Lyons, Dalton was faced with death threats regularly.
One man stated that he would shoot her down after she left work while another threatened to stab her. On a regular basis, she had to be escorted to and from work by the police. The stress of the job led to the development of depression, and Dalton turned to gambling to numb the pain. Many gambling addicts use playing pokies as a form of escapism, but it was not a good enough excuse for the court.
Dalton was found guilty of all 271 counts of falsifying documents. The prosecutor will make his sentencing submissions by July 31st. This is yet another occasion that proves the dangers of gambling addiction. On many occasions, individuals steal from friends, family and coworkers to fund their addictions – but Dalton stole from people in need.
There is certainly the need to enforce stricter safeguards on government funding, and improved gambling addiction programs.
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