MONTEGO BAY, St James — A woman accused of stealing nearly $300,000 from the piggy bank of her spouse’s eight-year-old daughter was brought before the St James Parish Court on Wednesday.

However, she said she has been falsely accused as punishment for attempting to flee an abusive relationship.

Suzette Campbell of Ironshore, St James, appeared before presiding judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley charged with simple larceny. The incident allegedly occurred while she was living with her common-law partner.

Attorney-at-law Chumu Paris watched the proceedings on behalf of the complainant, while attorney Sherneika Jackson has accepted an assignment to represent Campbell.

According to court documents, on November 11 sometime before 9:49 am, the couple was at home in Ironshore, St James, with the complainant’s eight-year-old daughter.

Sometime after 9:49 am, the complainant left the house to go to a supermarket.

While on the road, he received a call from Campbell, but when he returned home, she was nowhere to be found, and his daughter was locked inside.

He checked the room and discovered that it had been ransacked and that his Samsung Galaxy mobile phone had gone missing; however, Campbell eventually returned the phone.

It is also alleged that the complainant had a piggy bank in which he saved money for his daughter. When that piggy bank was checked, it was discovered that US$826 and J$169,450 had gone missing.

The matter was reported to the police, and Campbell was subsequently arrested. When cautioned, she reportedly said, “He bought me the phone as a gift, officer, and lied about not buying me anything…I swear to God, I never took any money from the piggy bank.”

In her defence, Campbell stated in court that what the complainant reported to the police was not factual.

“There was no money in the piggy bank. He lives with me and has abused, beaten and done all sort of things to me…I wanted to leave because I’m tired of it…I waited until he left for the supermarket and then I tried to escape. But because I did not return, he made those allegations against me, claiming I took his money. It’s nothing like that,” Campbell stated.

The couple was then referred to a mediation session with a facilitator who was present in court. Unfortunately, the session yielded no positive results, and the case is now being prepared for trial.

Meanwhile, the court was told that the file was almost complete, with the prosecution only awaiting the arresting officer’s statement.

The case was set for mention on February 27, and Campbell’s bail was extended.