The former business manager of a Catholic charity has been spared jail after admitting defrauding her employer out of nearly £250,000.

Melanie Goodwin, 57, abused her position at Parents, Children, Teachers (PACT) educational trust in Croydon for her own financial gain between February 2010 and August 2014.

She appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday for sentencing after pleading guilty in February to five counts of fraud worth £245,723.27.

Goodwin, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was handed a suspended two-year jail term and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.

The disgraced business manager was also placed under curfew at her home in Bath Street for six months between 9pm and 6am.

RELATED: Catholic charity business manager Melanie Goodwin admits defrauding her employer out of £250,000

PACT, founded by members of the controversial Catholic order Opus Dei, runs three independent schools in Croydon: the Laurels secondary school for girls and the Cedars secondary for boys, both in Coombe Road, and Oakwood primary school and nursery in Godstone Road, Purley.

Jake Taylor, defending Mrs Goodwin at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on February 19, said that while his client admitted all the charges there was "one slight area of contention" regarding £20,000 that she claimed was owed to her in travel expenses.

He also said that Mrs Goodwin, of Oxfordshire, had been paying back the stolen money.

Matthew Sherwood, the chief exective of PACT, said the fraud was discovered after Mrs Goodwin left the charity.

He said: "While preparing our 2013/14 financial accounts it became apparent that our charity had been a victim of a fraud.

"We investigated immediately and provided our full findings to the police. We also reported the incident to the Charity Commission."

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