A man who stole more than $450,000 from Australia Post to pay off gambling debts while running a tiny Western Australian town's post office will serve prison time.
Harry James Creagh, 32, pleaded guilty to taking the money in 110 transactions during the course of just over a year while working at the general store in Ongerup, 400 kilometres south-east of Perth.
The 32-year-old faced the Albany District Court on Tuesday and was handed a three-year jail term with two years suspended.
Creagh's father, who owns the business and was unaware of stealing, paid back the money after his son stole and was among a number of local supporters in the public gallery.
'Didn't know what to do but keep digging'
The court heard Creagh repeatedly transferred Australia Post funds into his personal account between June 2021 and August 2022.
He eventually admitted the thefts to Auspost officials during an audit.
After an internal investigation by Australia Post, the case was taken up by WA Police, and Creagh made full admissions to officers, telling them it went "out of control".
Creagh had been working for his father's general store in Ongerup which the post office was part of, since 2014.
Australia Post officials discovered the thefts during an audit. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)
Defence counsel Sonia Anderson said Creagh took the money as he was struggling to pay off a large gambling debt of $7,000, multiple personal loans and a mortgage.
She said debt collectors were routinely calling him, and he planned to use some of the money to gamble and use the winnings to pay back Australia Post.
While Creagh did take $452,850, he transferred $131,350 back to Australia Post before he was caught, leaving a total of $321,500 taken.
Ongerup is home to just 114 people. (ABC Great Southern: Briana Fiore)
Ms Anderson said his aim was not to take money to simply gamble with it, but to get himself out of his predicament.
"It was the gambling debt that allowed him to delude himself," she said.
District Court Judge John Staude agreed the offending appeared to be driven by poor decision-making in a desperate situation.
"You told police you were in such a deep hole that you didn't know what to do but keep digging," he said.
Creagh's father eventually repaid the money his son had stolen from the postal service. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)
Punishment warning to others
In a letter to the court, Creagh expressed remorse for his actions, and a number of letters from others in his community vouched for his reputation as an active volunteer.
"You have gained nothing from this offending but a reduced inheritance and a mark of dishonesty on your record," Judge Staude said.
While acknowledging Creagh was unlikely to reoffend and had made steps to address his personal and financial issues, Judge Staude said there needed to be a punishment that would deter other figures in similar positions of trust.