A Brantford lady who pleaded responsible final month to faking pregnancies and fraudulently searching for the providers of dozens of doulas throughout Ontario faces a sentencing listening to at the moment, when victims will even share how her actions have affected their lives.
Kaitlyn Braun, 25, pleaded responsible to 21 fees — together with fraud, indecent acts, false pretences and mischief — of the 52 she confronted.
She was first arrested in March after searching for the assistance of doulas in what ended up being false pregnancies and stillbirths, from June 2022 to February 2023.
In accordance with court docket paperwork, Braun coerced 17 victims into giving her massages whereas she was bare with the intent to insult or offend them. She additionally meant to defraud them below the pretence of pregnancies that she knew have been false, the paperwork say.
Braun pleaded responsible to mischief for making a false assertion to a Brantford police officer in February, accusing another person of the offences to mislead the investigation. She has been in custody since her arrest, Braun’s lawyer, Alison Macdonald, informed CBC Information in an e mail.
A doula is a educated skilled who supplies assist to purchasers earlier than, throughout and shortly after childbirth. Additionally they assist with grief and trauma round being pregnant loss, however they’re not health-care professionals who ship infants they usually don’t have entry to medical data or tools.
Whereas doulas have certifications with totally different organizations, they don’t seem to be registered with a regulating or governing physique.
The id of the doulas within the case are lined by a publication ban. The sentencing listening to is in Brantford’s Ontario Court docket of Justice.
Extreme influence on doulas, says affiliation
In March, CBC Information spoke to a number of the doulas linked to the case earlier than it went to court docket. They mentioned the ordeal prompted them extreme trauma, the lack of invaluable time and, in some circumstances, cash.
All of them mentioned Braun contacted them on social media to hunt their providers, together with being pregnant loss assist, stillbirth labour and labour. Braun would inform them the being pregnant was a results of sexual assault and he or she had no assist from her family members.
The doulas mentioned Braun gave every of them totally different accounts of how far alongside in her being pregnant she was, and mentioned many felt compassion for her, so that they agreed to work without spending a dime.
Stephanie Antunes of the Affiliation of Ontario Doulas informed CBC final month that she fears the Braun case might trigger doulas to be uncertain of the traumatic occasions she described to them, including belief is a vital pillar of the occupation.
“For lots of doulas, their first intuition goes to be to not imagine that individual. I can’t think about something extra horrible than somebody who’s really skilled that, not being believed by a doula they’re in search of assist from,” Antunes mentioned in December.
The e-mail from Braun’s lawyer mentioned the fees that Braun hasn’t pleaded responsible to, together with sexual assault, can be dropped as soon as the Ontario Court docket of Justice decide palms down the sentence.