Otago uni exam thief admits stealing exams

Otago uni exam thief admits stealing exams

Police have released the summary of facts from a case where a young woman stole exam papers from the University of Otago.

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and applied for discharge without conviction. She has been granted interim name suppression because of her "fragile mental health".

The woman sat an exam in early November when a supervisor became suspicious of her behaviour as she used the toilet on three separate occasions. The supervisor had the bathroom area checked and a set of handwritten notes was found.

The supervisor took the notes and when the exam papers were collected, kept the student's paper separate.

The student asked whether she was in trouble and said she had seen notes in the toilet but denied they were hers.

The exams were taken to a secure area at the University of Otago Registry Building where the woman's exam was placed on a separate shelf with the handwritten notes.

Later in the day, she asked Campus Watch for directions to the exam office, where she spoke to a staff member about the criteria for special consideration in exams.

That afternoon, she collected items to disguise herself, including rubber gloves, a hooded top and balaclava, before driving to the university. She hid in a cleaner's cupboard and under a bed until staff left and the building was locked.

The woman then used a steel bracket from a cleaner's cupboard to smash open the wood panelling and glass of the doors of three different offices.

Two silent alarms were activated after she smashed her way into the basement and one of the offices.

The student then located the exam scripts and searched through for her paper, locating it on the separate shelf. She took her paper along with 95 other exams from a range of subjects including dentistry, English, political science, and health.

The woman then left the building through the main entrance under the clock tower with the exams and drove home. She changed her clothes and drove to Ravensbourne where the stolen papers were thrown into the harbour. She discarded her disguise on the way home.

She initially denied the charge of burglary but has since admitted to the facts with the explanation that her career meant everything to her. She said she had been determined to find her paper and the notes.

She was remanded on bail until sentencing in February.

The maximum sentence for burglary of property under $500 carries a five-year prison sentence.

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