Former Peel Districts Little Athletics Centre president admits stealing more than $36,000 from club

A former president of Mandurah’s main little athletics club has admitted to stealing more than $36,000 from the club over a year. Cristy Maree Morrison stole money from Peel Districts Little Athletics Centre on more than 100 occasions between September 2022 and August last year, with the amounts taken each time ranging from just $5 up to one figure of $1240. The 44-year-old on Friday pleaded guilty to 128 charges of stealing as a servant when she appeared in Mandurah Magistrates Court. A further 12 charges had been dropped, police prosecutor Sgt Naomi Foster said at the start of her hearing. As magistrate Leanne Atkins read aloud each charge individually, including the amount taken from the little athletics centre, Morrison was asked to confirm she understood the charge and then announce her plea. Morrison was barely audible when speaking, prompting Ms Atkins at one stage to ask her to re-confirm a plea. Lawyer Lisa Riley requested a presentencing report and psychological report before Morrison is sentenced in May. She said Morrison had recently been diagnosed with major depression and anxiety and indicated that those conditions may have contributed to her offending. The current president of Peel Districts Little Athletics Centre told the Mandurah Times Morrison had been the club’s president for two years from March 2021 before serving as the club’s registrar. Paul McCrow said when he was appointed president in March 2023, he found there was a significant amount of money missing from the club’s accounts and began investigating before handing the matter to the police. “Once we discovered it, she (Morrison) was obviously removed from any role within the club,” he said. “I have had no contact with her since.” Mr McCrow said the club had since changed banks and now three signatories had visibility of all transactions, with two required on any payments. “The processes are in place now; from a governance perspective, that this can’t happen again,” he said. “I guess it’s a wake up call for all sporting organisations ... that they need to make sure they have checks in place to make sure that this type of activity can’t happen.” Mr McCrow said the money lost from the club put it in such a bad position it was initially without enough funds to start the 2023-2024 season. He credited the new committee’s “tireless work” for returning the club to a financially secure position and described the future as “bright” as the current summer season comes to an end. There are even plans to expand into adult athletics next season. “We know that we’re in a much better position as a result of the changes that we’ve made, and we think our future is bright,” Mr McCrow said. “The season that we’ve had has been very successful and the club’s growing and we are expecting more growth next season.” Morrison will be sentenced on May 6.