By Tania Broughton

Facebook con artist and gambling addict Dalene Crawford fell in the dock in a fit of hysteria after being sent to prison for five years on Wednesday.

Comforted by her sister and her 20-year-old daughter, she appeared dazed as they attempted to calm her down after her pleas for mercy and “one last chance” did not sway Durban regional court magistrate Sharon Marks who heard evidence that she had two previous convictions for fraud.

Crawford’s arrest at her Pennington home last week came in the wake of a guilty plea by Durban mother Deidre Rugg, who admitted that she had asked Crawford, a friend on Facebook, to help her to rig a paternity test to reflect that her present boyfriend was the biological father of her child.

She had done this, Rugg said, because the real father was not stable. But Rugg said her life soon turned into a nightmare with Crawford demanding more and more money first to obtain the certificate, then to get protection orders from a magistrate and then to pay off “blackmailers” who had found out about the manipulated paternity test. In total, she said, she gave Crawford R65 000.

On Wednesday, Crawford, 40, a mother of three, pleaded guilty to five charges of fraud, forgery, uttering, extortion and crimen injuria.

She said she had created a false paternity test certificate at an internet café and had sent it to Rugg via MMS.

She said she had created “various fictional” characters to dupe Rugg out of money and she gambled it all away.

The crimen injuria charges relates to her telling Rugg that she knew Scottburgh magistrate Chris Schoeman, and that he owed her a favour and would give her a protection order against the biological father.

In an unusual move, Schoeman – who has 36 years’ experience – came to court on Wednesday to testify about the damage this had caused him.

“It was a horrific experience… it was extremely humiliating. I had to explain myself to my friends and I was worried about what this could do to my wife,” he said.

Weeping, Crawford apologised to him during the court proceedings.

Schoeman told her: “You almost ruined my life. I am about to retire.”

Crawford admitted to two previous convictions, one for fraud in 2003 in which she was given a suspended sentence on condition she pay a fine, repay her victim Remax, almost R20 000 and attend Gambling Anonymous counselling sessions.

Prosecutor Barend Groen said she had not met any of the conditions.

She had not paid the fine in full, had only paid Remax about R4 000 and, on her own admission, had only attended two counselling sessions.

And then in 2007, she had been given yet another chance – this time by magistrate Chris Schoeman when he gave her another suspended sentence for fraud.

Groen said it was clear Crawford cared about no-one but herself.

“She was given a chance to sort out her gambling problem, but she did not take it. The only place to solve it now is in Westville Prison where, to my knowledge, there are no gambling machines,” Groen submitted.

Referring to her previous suspended sentences, Marks said it was probable that Crawford had “cried and the magistrates had given her a second chance”, but now direct imprisonment was called for. – The Mercury

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