Sign up to the GrimsbyLive newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Sign up here! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

They both had clean records, were first offenders and found themselves in court for stealing. But when it came to sentencing, Valentina Zarembo and Suzanne Calder faced very different fates.

And remarkably it was the one who stole the least, £3,000, who ended up in jail while the other, who took £22,000 - seven times as much - walked free from court.

At first glance, it appears unfair that a woman who stole much less was the one who ended up being locked up.

But that was the reality in two cases within a few days of each other at Grimsby Crown Court.

Both outcomes, the jailing and the suspended prison sentence, were within the guidelines and could not legally be challenged.

But what made the difference was pure bad luck for one of the women and the fact that, for her, she got a renowned tough judge in court on the day.

(Image: Facebook)

The different outcomes were particularly ironic for Valentina Zarembo, 29, of Newland Drive, Scunthorpe.

The amount she stole, £3,000, from the Scunthorpe corner shop where she worked, was so low comparatively that often cases involving such amounts stay at the magistrates' court and are not even sent in the first place to Grimsby Crown Court.

It's even rarer in such circumstances for the person involved, particularly if it is a woman with no previous convictions, to be jailed.

Usually, the defendant will get a suspended sentence or a community order, sometimes with unpaid work, rehabilitation or a curfew.

But no, it was prison for her because she was unlucky enough to get Deputy Circuit Judge Robert Moore for her case.

He has been known for his no-nonsense sentencing over many years, with the word "maximum" often being mentioned for cases involving him.

He officially retired as a circuit judge in February 2017 but, now in his 70s, continued very soon afterwards as a deputy circuit judge, still sitting mainly at Sheffield Crown Court but occasionally visiting the Grimsby court.

Over the years, his many prison sentences became legendary, on several occasions sending down every one of the defendants in his court.

On one memorable day at Grimsby Crown Court, the then Judge Moore jailed all those on his sentencing list but, next door, a particularly lenient Recorder spared prison for all those on his list.

Judge Moore's prison sentences became so popular with Grimsby Telegraph readers that there were online comments saying "Judge Moore for Mayor".

He was known for increasing, not decreasing, prison sentences when defendants appealed against jailings at the magistrates' court and reversing, on appeal by the prosecution, the granting of bail given by magistrates.

Judge Moore once famously caused raised eyebrows when he asked in court: "What does it take to get sent away at this court?"

At Sheffield Crown Court, he once got wind that a defendant might be trying to get his case moved to a more lenient judge's court so he promptly reserved the case to himself so that there was no escape.

(Image: Facebook)

With all this background, there was probably never much hope for Valentina Zarembo and she was duly jailed.

She fiddled more than £3,000 from her bosses after giving free food to friends and ringing in false amounts on the till.

She pocketed the difference and falsified refunds and credit card transactions.

How much luckier was Suzanne Calder, 33, of Eden Dene, Scunthorpe, who stole or conned £22,000 from her vulnerable grandmother but got a different judge.

She raided a bank account belonging to her 71-year-old grandmother, who needed help from social services and could be confused and forgetful.

The total amount of the thefts was just over £10,000 and the amount of the frauds with unauthorised purchases was over £12,500, making a total of over £22,000 in eight months.

Despite the large extra amount of cash she took - and not just the £3,000 of Zarembo - she got a walk-out, with her barrister not even having to fight to save her from prison.

The judge in her case gave an indication of his thinking as soon as the defence case started and immediately made clear that he would not be jailing Calder.

Pure luck on the day but that's an often unappreciated aspect of sentencing that can lead to what many people might consider to be a concerning lack of consistency.

When two women both have no previous convictions but the one who stole by far the least amount of cash ends up being the one jailed, it can seem very unfair.

But those who interpret the law and the guidelines are individuals, not computers, and this can lead to very different outcomes.

Add to that the general sentencing approaches and attitudes of different judges, including the public image some of them consciously and deliberately adopt, and it will continue to be the case that whether you are jailed can be no more than pure pot luck - or very bad luck - on the day.

Follow the Grimsby court mouse He's been scurrying around the courts for more years than he cares to remember but now Grimsby court mouse has gone digital. Follow the ins and outs at Grimsby's Magistrates Court and Crown Court with the rodent who knows every nook and cranny, from the dock to the cells. Join the group here

Follow or contact Grimsby Live

Contact us : Email the reporter who wrote this story.

Follow Grimsby Live on Facebook - Like our Facebook page to get the latest news in your feed and join in the lively discussions in the comments. Click here to give it or message us with a comment or story

Follow us on Twitter - For breaking news and the latest stories, click here to follow Grimsby Live on Twitter.

Follow us on Instagram - On the Grimsby Live Instagram page we like to feature great pictures from our area - and if you tag us in your posts, we could repost your picture on our page! Click here to follow Grimsby Live on Instagram.