A cashier who conned her company out of more than $33,000 yesterday avoided being sent to prison after Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner was told she was pregnant.

At a previous hearing in Magistrates' Court, Shantell Washington, 20, of Rec View Hill, Devonshire, admitted falsifying 170 credit returns at SAL Trading so that she could go out partying with friends and pay her cell phone bill.

However, yesterday Mr. Warner accepted Washington's claim that her circumstances were exceptional and gave her a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years.

"I find that this is the type of offence that should be met with an immediate custodial sentence. The question is how long," Mr. Warner told Magistrates' Court.

But he added: "I find there are enough exceptional circumstances for me to suspend the sentence."

Earlier in yesterday's hearing, Washington's lawyer Ed King had told the court: "These offences obviously spring from youthful foolishness.

"She is remorseful and wants to apologise to her family and her employers."

Mr. King said Washington would soon be a young, single parent, and that SAL Trading was a big company which would be insured.

Mr. Warner said another mitigating factor was that SAL needed a basic security system to prevent this kind of crime.

Two months ago, Washington pleaded guilty to one count of theft and 20 counts of false accounting between April and August last year.

She was a cashier at SAL's Devonshire branch and was responsible for billing customers, issuing receipts for payment, ensuring payments were made, clearing charges and balancing her work at the end of the day.

She was suspended when management spotted irregularities in the credit returns, and was later arrested.

Washington was also put on probation for 24 months, during which time she will have to take part in rehabilitation programmes recommended by the court service.