A bank assistant plotted with her "controlling" older boyfriend to steal $60,000 from her workplace after falling "head over heels" for him, a court heard.

Juanae Crockwell, 23, escaped a prison sentence after her lawyer claimed she was "exploited" by Roger Lightbourne Sr., 42, who fled the Island after he was charged.

Charles Richardson said the young woman has been suicidal since the crime, and is now around two months pregnant by another man.

Crockwell pleaded guilty on August 5 to plotting with Lightbourne and a third conspirator, Justin Denbrook, 27, to steal the cash.

Prosecutor Robert Welling told the court the crime dates back to Friday, December 28 2007, when Bermuda Financial Network (BFN) faxed a $60,000 money order to the Bank of NT Butterfield on Front Street.

The order was processed by a customer service associate and $60,000 cash was set aside for collection by a BFN employee, but no-one arrived that day to pick up the cash.

"Juanae Crockwell, as a trusted employee of the bank, used her intimate knowledge of the banking procedures to exploit this failure to collect the money as anticipated," said Mr. Welling.

Phone records show how she, Denbrook and Lightbourne plotted over the weekend to commit the theft first thing on Monday, December 31. On that date, Denbrook attended the bank, wearing dark glasses to conceal his appearance and posing as a BFN employee.

He presented Crockwell, who was working as a student banking assistant, with a Bermuda passport. She got him to sign a log book before handing him the cash, at which point he left.

According to Mr. Welling it was "immediately" discovered that she'd failed to adhere to the correct procedures for verifying money orders. It later emerged that Denbrook had been captured on CCTV.

Crockwell, from Southampton, has no previous convictions, but Lightbourne Sr. has a lengthy rap sheet, which was alluded to by Crockwell's lawyer Charles Richardson yesterday.

"My client is a good young woman who was raised by a good old-fashioned God-fearing family," he said, explaining she was educated in the UK and planned to pursue a Master's degree.

However, he went on to state: "Everything seemed to be going quite well for Ms Crockwell, and then she met Roger Lightbourne, and since then her life never has been and never will be the same.

"She was a naive young woman unable to deal with the dynamic of being in a relationship with a man who was much older than her."

Mr. Richardson continued: "That would not be a bad thing if the man in question was wholesome and had her best interests at heart, but it does not seem Mr. Lightbourne ever intended to safeguard her best interests.

"It would appear that his primary motive was to exploit her and that he did. And Ms Crockwell, against her better judgement, fell head over heels in love with him. This caused great disquiet to her family who were well aware of him and his lifestyle, but Ms Crockwell was hopelessly smitten."

He added: "Soon after she met him, he introduced her to crack cocaine. He told her that he loved her. Once he had control over her and this scheme came to his attention, she was used as a primary game piece to steal money from the bank."

Mr. Richardson said of the stolen money: "Ms Crockwell never saw a dime of it, consistent with the one-sided relationship... she got nothing out of it except having her life ruined. "

He said she is now in recovery from her drug addiction, but has suffered from psychological problems and has attempted suicide. Mr. Richardson argued that Crockwell could not receive the counselling she needs if in jail, plus she is six to eight weeks pregnant and would have to give up her baby.

Crockwell apologised to the court, the bank, and her family "who I have greatly disappointed and caused a lot of hurt". She said that since admitting to the crime "I am grateful to have begun the process of restoration to my true self".

She was supported in court by family members including her brother Shawn Crockwell, a lawyer and former Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP. He was handed a ten year jail sentence in 1996 after abusing his position as a Supreme Court clerk to steal $600,000 of drugs stored in the court's safe, but has since turned his life around.

Handing her a one-year sentence, suspended for two years, Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons said she had taken into account factors including Crockwell's previous good character, psychological problems, pregnancy, and the fact she pleaded guilty to the crime.

Denbrook, from St. David's has a history that includes twice being convicted of gang-related rioting in relation to mass brawls in St. David's last May and after Cup Match last July. He also has convictions for prowling, and receiving a stolen motorbike.

His lawyer, Llewellyn Peniston, said he had not received any cash from the crime either. The judge did not accept this, since Denbrook, who has a five-year-old son, stated in a pre-sentence report that he committed the theft because "money was tight, I had bills to pay, my son and other things."

Mrs. Justice Simmons meted out nine months behind bars followed by a further nine months on a suspended sentence and 18 months on probation.

The Police have previously stated they are seeking to execute a warrant for Lightbourne's arrest. He left the Country while on court-imposed bail which did not include surrendering his travel documents, and has yet to enter a plea to the charge.