Former Chatham-Kent police officer Robert Mugridge will learn this fall what his punishment will be for defrauding over 40 people for almost $250,000.
Mugridge was in the Chatham Courthouse Friday morning as the judge heard sentencing submissions from the defense and Crown. Lucas O'Hara represents Mugridge and asked for a conditional two-year sentence with three years probation, while crown prosecutor Adam Campbell asked for 12 to 15 months of jail time.
Mugridge will be back in the Chatham Courthouse September 17 to receive a sentence that could range from house arrest to over a year in jail.
He pled guilty to one count of fraud in August 2017 and sentencing has been delayed multiple times since.
O'Hara opened his submission by pointing out Mugridge's early life was hard, losing his father in his early 20s and being forced to take care of his mother who suffers from depression. He tried to prove good character by stating Mugridge was a foster parent and has adopted two children.
O'Hara argued Mugridge should get a conditional sentence because the fraud was committed in an effort to keep his ex-wife accustomed to a certain lifestyle and he was afraid she would leave him and take his kids if he couldn't continue to provide it for her. He added Mugridge had every intention of paying those he borrowed money from back at the time, so there was no intent to defraud.
The lawyer added Mugridge's debt began to pile up so high he decided to take his own life and was thwarted by a friend who broke into his house to stop him. O'Hara said his client saw two forensic psychologists who both agreed Mugridge suffered from depression.
O'Hara continued his argument for a conditional sentence stating Mugridge has suffered public embarrassment by being labelled a disgraced police officer in media reports. He added if Mugridge were to serve time, he would have to be in protective custody because he is a former police officer.
The lawyer said restitution would be easier for Mugridge to pay as he would be allowed to continue to work at his current factory job.
Campbell started his submission by admitting he was sympathetic to Mugridge's situation and it showed in the sentence he was asking for. The Crown said fraud cases involving this much money generally land people in prison for three to five years, so asking for 12 to 15 months was quite lenient.
He added generally in fraud cases the guilty person serves one month per $10,000, which in this instance would land Mugridge over two years of jail time. The Crown said it isn't a rule of thumb, but something he sees applied often.
Campbell based his argument for jail time on Mugridge's use of a position of trust as a police officer to convince people to lend him money. He added the fact he did on duty and in uniform was egregious and whether Mugridge planned on paying them back or not was irrelevant considering he continued his behaviour for five years.
He used case law to show comparable outcomes where people used their position of trust to defraud others and in those cases, all received jail time. Campbell added Mugridge didn't turn himself in once he realized he wouldn't be able to pay these people back. He was caught and investigated by police.
The Crown argued the court can't grant Mugridge a conditional sentence based on disgrace because any cop who is convicted of a crime will inherently face public embarrassment.
According to O'Hara, Mugridge has paid down the debt to a new total of $162,030.99 and has an additional $47,000 in a trust fund to add to it. The attorney said Mugridge's current finances allow him to pay $800 a month towards restitution and asked for a 12-year period to complete payment.
Campbell rejected the offer, asking that Mugridge's restitution be payed in five years when he can come back to court and ask for an extension if it isn't paid in full.
The judge will take all things into consideration and impose a sentence in September.
While the court received nine victim impact statements, none of those individuals were willing to appear in court to read them.
