A 25-year-old Brantford, Ont., woman who pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges relating to faked pregnancies and seeking the assistance of doulas from across North America will be under house arrest for two years.
Ontario court justice Robert Gee gave Kaitlyn Braun two years with electronic monitoring followed by another three years of probation, in a sentence he characterized as “distasteful” after being agreed upon by Crown and defence counsel.
In December, Braun owned up to 21 of 52 charges that she falsely used the services of several doulas — trained experts who provide guidance and support women during labour.
Incidents ran between June 2022 and February 2023 with Braun seeking birth workers and lying about pregnancies, often saying she was carrying a stillborn child.
Under the terms of the sentence, Braun is expected to remain at home at all times, except for one hour a week to acquire the necessities of life, as well as report to a supervisor whenever directed.
She was also given allowances to attend work, medical, dental and court-ordered counselling appointments in the second year of her sentence.
Additionally, Braun is prohibited from contact with a list of people and must not be within 100 metres of them.
She also has sanctions related to possessing or using a computer or other device with internet access without the supervision of her supervisor.
Maighen Stanley, who was one of the childbirth educators Braun called upon, said she was “disgusted” with the agreed sentence in a media scrum outside of court.
Stanley called the result “disheartening” and revealed she’s been in therapy dealing with PTSD ever since her encounter with Braun.
“I’ve been incredibly unwell,” Stanley said.
“Honestly, it was hard to even get out of bed this morning to make it here, and to be here now and still not receive any justice is really hard.”
The Crown alleged Braun committed fraud, mischief, and indecent acts when luring some 19 doulas under false pretences.
She was also accused of connecting with support workers from Ontario communities as far away as Hamilton, London, Cornwall and Sarnia while also contacting others in Alberta and Florida using phone or video chat.
In several cases, court documents revealed she cried and screamed while pretending to deliver a stillborn baby.
Outside the courthouse after the decision, London-based doula Amy Silva said she wasn’t surprised by the sentence but not okay with it.
“I’m still struggling with the fact that she’s walking around somewhere,” a disappointed Silva said.
She went on to say that the incident hasn’t shaken her resolve to continue in her line of work.
“I’m damn good at what I do and I think everybody else here that’s a doula is good at it,” said Silva.
“I’m not going to let Kaitlyn ruin that for me nor for the families I support.”
Braun was arrested by Brantford police last March and has been in custody ever since.
Charges tied to alleged sex assaults and criminal harassment were withdrawn by the Crown during the sentencing on Wednesday.
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