Man jailed for stealing from charity for sick children

York - A charity administrator in the UK was sentenced to time in prison for stealing money from a fund designed to help sick children.

Howard Rose, 63, stole £76,040 from the Yorkshire Children's Hospital Fund during a three-year period, and used it to pay off his debts. The crimes were uncovered after trustees called in the North Yorkshire Police. After admitting to the theft he was sentenced at York Crown Court to 15 months in prison. "Howard Rose abused his role within the trust for his own personal gain, without sparing a thought for the children he was supposed to be helping," Det Sgt Garry Ridler, of the major fraud team, said in a press release. "He stole funds which people had donated for the care of sick children and for that he fully deserves the sentence he has been given. "He now has time to reflect on the major breach of trust which he should be ashamed of, considering the length of time in which he had been taking what amounted to a substantial amount of money." Rose diverted funds from the trust to his personal account between June 2007 and May 2010. The York Press reported that he began working for the trust part time in 2004 and began stealing from it when he fell heavily into debt. Rose's lawyer said he had planned to “borrow” the money, but was unable to pay it back when health problems caused him to leave his other job as an administrator for The Alzheimer’s Trust. The Yorkshire Children's Hospital Fund website states that the fund was "established in 1989 to help the region's hospitals purchase essential medical and emergency equipment for their Children's Wards."