A MAN stole £1,300 from a disabled friend when he found himself with nowhere to live after his family kicked him out for being gay.

Christopher O’Connor-Coughlan, 25, tricked his disabled friend, Christopher Oxby, out of £1,300, after the man took him in off the street and gave him a place to stay.

Basildon Crown Court heard yesterday O’Connor-Coughlan had previous convictions for similar thefts which started after his step-dad kicked him out for being gay.

O’Connor-Coughlan, who recently entered in to civil partnership, narrowly avoided jail and was handed a-nine month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

Despite being found guilty by a jury he continued to protest his innocence.

Speaking after the hearing, he said: “I am not sorry because I have not done anything wrong.

“I was found guilty because I could not provide bank statements.”

The court heard O’Connor-Coughlan was lodging at Mr Oxby’s house in Ryedene Place, Vange, in June 2014.

Anthony Abell, prosecuting, said O’Connor- Coughlan pretended he had lost his bank card in the post and asked his friend for £1,300.

Mr Oxby lent him the money, but never got it back and O’Connor- Coughlan soon scarpered.

Mr Abell said: “Mr Oxby now feels untrustworthy of friends.

“He lost £1,300 which he was going to use to pay for a new sofa.

“He was unemployed at the time and has still not been able to afford the new sofa.”

The court heard O’Connor-Coughlan, now of South Clive Street, Cardiff, had carried out similar scams to four other friends.

Kabir Sondhi, mitigating, told the court his client had started stealing after being thrown out by his parents after coming out.

He said: “His offending only started after he was thrown out of his home for being gay.

“He was lodging with people and had nowhere to go.”

Judge Jonathan Black said: “It is quite clear this was a planned fraud against a person who trusted you.

“It was an abuse of a position of trust because he was a vulnerable person who was susceptible to this sort of deception.

“You have previous convictions where you deceived someone else who had offered you accommodation, for that reason I must impose a custodial sentence however there are factors in your case that allow me to suspend it.”

In addition to the suspended sentence O’Connor-Coughlan was given supervision, ordered to attend the thinking skills programme for 35 sessions and was handed a curfew.

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