Next shop manager jailed for selling clothes on eBay

A SHOP manager who stole hundreds of items of clothes to sell on eBay as “revenge” against his employers because he didn’t like the way he was being treated, has been jailed for seven months.

Judge Rodger Hayward-Smith, QC, told 23-year-old Jack Hutchinson, from Crabtrees, Saffron Walden, at Chelmsford Crown Court: “This was a serious breach of trust.”

Hutchinson, who admitted stealing 300 items from Next between October 1, 2008 and October 19, 2009, sold �4700 worth on eBay and was found to have another �2200 worth of clothes in his possession.

Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said the thefts occurred during a 12-month period at the Braintree Freeport branch of the shop. Hutchinson had worked at the company for four years at the time.

Mr Jackson continued: “He began taking them from stock within two months of going there, sold them on eBay and afterwards changed his account details. He was also found to have a device – a camera tracker – to detect hidden cameras at the shop.”

Sentencing him Judge Hayward-Smith said: “You were in a position of trust as the manager of Next and seriously breached that trust. It stopped when you were found out.

“You tried to wriggle out of it by denying what you had been doing and giving false identification for eBay access but subsequently made full admissions.

“It was said to have been done in revenge because you didn’t like the way Next was treating you.

“Aggravated by the length of time involved, the breach of trust - I regard this as a serious breach of trust”.