The appellant pleaded guilty to dealing in passports and breach of trust after stealing 246 blank passports from her employer, the Scarborough Passport Office.
She was sentenced to 5.5 years imprisonment.
On appeal, the Crown conceded the trial judge erred in principle by treating an unproven profit motive as an aggravating factor.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the offence was not the worst envisaged by the statute and emphasizing the appellant's youth and lack of prior record.
The global sentence was reduced to 4.5 years, resulting in a net sentence of 4 years after credit for pre-trial custody and bail conditions.
