A fraudster who preyed on a vulnerable elderly woman in her 70s and conned her out of £34,000 has been jailed for a total of two years.
Dale Robertson, 29, from New Pitsligo, who cares for his father, took cheques from the woman for building and gardening work at her Peterhead home.
Sheriff Malcolm Garden said jail was the only option for a "calculated and callous crime".
He was earlier found guilty after a trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court.
Solicitor Bruce MacDonald had asked for leniency due to his client's role as his father's carer.
"This court requires to give a clear message that these types of offences against vulnerable members of the community will not be tolerated"
He said: "He lives with his father, who has a breathing condition, liver and kidney problems and is somewhat senile. Mr Robertson looks after him, cooks and cleans the house, washes him and such like.
"He is very important to his father. His father would not be able to survive on his own.
"He is concerned about what would happen to his father if he is not around to look after him."
No sympathy
But Sheriff Garden said: "This was a calculated and callous crime sustained over a significant period of time and involving the exploitation of vulnerable persons.
"This court requires to give a clear message that these types of offences against vulnerable members of the community will not be tolerated.
"There is no element of empathy or sympathy. That being the case, you will got to prison for two years."
Robertson had gone on trial accused of forming a fraudulent scheme between January and December 2006 to get money by pretending he had carried out substantial building and gardening work at the woman's home.
A jury unanimously found him guilty after a three-day trial.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~51~RS~)