WINNIPEG -- Anna Mercado will be spending the next year behind bars.
She was sentenced to a year in jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to eight counts of theft under $5,000 for stealing jewelry from several elderly residents at the Kildonan Long Term Care Centre. Each victim suffered from mild to severe dementia.
Mercado worked at the facility caring for many patients.
The judge said she had abused her position of trust and that her sentence was not unduly long or harsh.
Upon her release, Mercado will be sentenced to 24 months of probation where she must follow a number of guidelines.
Mercado will also have to pay restitution to the families of the victims.
While the judge was reading the verdict, Mercado could be seen looking down at her hands while she fiddled with a handkerchief.
She showed little emotion during the judge’s decision but a look of shocked washed over her face for a time as she was being taken away in handcuffs.
