By rdnewsNOW staff

Man who stole from air cadets to repay $35,000, serve jail time

Apr 26, 2018 | 2:07 PM

A man who embezzled funds from the 24 Red Deer Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron will spend the next 10 months behind bars.

David Lee Gillard must also pay back $35,000 he stole from the organization.

Gillard, 46, pleaded guilty in November to a count of theft over $5,000. A second count of possession of forged documents was withdrawn.

Red Deer RCMP opened an investigation in May 2016 after the squadron accused Gillard of stealing funds over the course of two years while serving as Treasurer for the Squadron Sponsoring Committee.

Court heard Gillard stole the money by writing cheques to himself and forging the second signature required to make them valid. The cadets had been unaware of the embezzlement until being notified by their bank of a NSF cheque.  

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Gillard was initially accused of stealing around $100,000 from the squadron, but only $35,000 could be proved.

Court heard Thursday morning that Gillard was experiencing financial trouble at the time of the thefts and was using the stolen money to support his family.  

The 24 Squadron Red Deer Air Cadets have been around since 1944. They are a community-based program for kids aged 12 to 18. The squad operates with some funding from the Department of National Defence while the Squadron Sponsoring Committee is made up of parent volunteers and raises funds to cover other costs.

Approximately 60 youth involved in the squadron have missed out on a number of activities due to the money being stolen, court heard Thursday.

“There are no winners,” Judge James Glass said while delivering sentence, referring to the squadron who lost money and Gillard’s family who will be without him for the next several months.

“I just want to apologize to the court and the cadets,” Gillard said, calling what he did “despicable.”

Crown Prosecutor Ed Ring had asked for a sentence of 10 to 12 months along with 18 months’ probation. Defence lawyer Jason Snider argued for a sentence of six to 12 months.