A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced a woman with an extensive criminal history of impersonating nurses in several provinces to four years in prison, tacking on more time to a sentence she is already serving in Ontario.
Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes says the prospects of rehabilitation for Brigitte Cleroux “seem slim,” after she detailed the woman’s extensive criminal history across Canada.
Holmes says Cleroux has never been professionally qualified as a nurse, and her criminal record includes numerous convictions for fraud and forgery over the years in multiple provinces.
Holmes handed down her reasons for sentencing in a Vancouver courtroom today, ruling on three indictments for crimes Cleroux committed in Vancouver, Victoria and Surrey, B.C.
The judge says Cleroux’s impersonation of a real nurse, whose name is under a publication ban, caused patients who she treated to lose trust in the province’s medical system almost “without exception.”
Holmes says Cleroux’s “deep seated dishonesty” caused hundreds of patients emotional distress after they learned she wasn’t qualified, and sentenced her to another four years in prison to be served after she completes her sentence in Ontario for similar offences.