Brantford, Ont. woman, charged again with falsely soliciting pregnancy support, back in court
Kaitlyn Braun, the Brantford, Ont. woman who previously admitted to deceiving doulas and is facing similar charges again, is not seeking bail at this time, her lawyer Alison Macdonald said Friday.
She has represented Braun in the past and told CTV News she has been retained again.
Hamilton Police announced on Wednesday that Braun, 25, had been arrested and is facing multiple criminal charges including obtaining by false pretence, harassing communications and alleged breach of a conditional sentence order.
They accuse Braun of falsely soliciting support, related to pregnancy and childbirth, between April 17 and April 18.
Braun appeared in court on Wednesday. Her case was briefly addressed in a Hamilton courtroom on Friday but Braun did not make an appearance.
Macdonald said having an alleged breach is distinguished from the new charges and there is some urgency to get it addressed.
Back in February, Braun was sentenced to two years of house arrest after pleading guilty to deceiving and defrauding multiple doulas, starting in June 2022.
She admitted to contacting numerous doulas, pretending to be pregnant, often claiming it was the result of a sexual assault.
The doulas supported Braun, some in person and others through the phone or over video chat.
In some cases, Braun pretended to go through a stillbirth, even sending the doula a photo of a stillborn baby.
Doulas told CTV Kitchener that their experiences with Braun left them emotionally distressed, mentally traumatized and hearing of her recent arrest on similar charges has been a setback in their efforts to heal.
Amy Silva, a London-based doula and one of Braun’s original victims, said they are supporting each other, but it’s been difficult.
“Today has been rough,” Silva told CTV News on Friday. “There has been a lot of feelings within our group, a lot of conversations taking place. Emotions are heated. Conversations are heated. It's a difficult place for all of us right now, and we're all at different places on our healing journey and growing from all of this, which makes being thrown back into this a little bit more difficult for everybody because we’re trying to navigate what to do and how to feel. And there's no manual on how to do that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
Italian teenage computer wizard set to become the first saint of the millennial generation
Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation on Thursday, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006.
Milk sold in Canadian grocery stores tested for avian influenza; results released
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-nominated director of 'Super Size Me,' dies at 53
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work, famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.
Top Russian military officials are being arrested. Why is it happening?
It began last month with the arrest of a Russian deputy defense minister. Then the head of the ministry’s personnel directorate was hauled into court. This week, two more senior military officials were detained. All face charges of corruption, which they have denied.
Toddler dies after being struck by recycling truck in Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
Helicopters, impersonations and squeezing through the fence: a brief history of Quebec prison escapes
Friday's warrant for prison inmate Yacine Zouaoui, 32, is the latest in hundreds of reported prison breaks in Quebec. Sometimes, they just walked away; sometimes they went through a fence, and twice they used a helicopter.
Canadian border workers vote in favour of possible strike: union
Border workers have voted in favour of a strike mandate which could lead to 'significant disruptions' to the flow of goods, services and people through Canadian ports of entry, their union said Friday morning.
Defunct Lynx Air selling off life jackets, oxygen masks in bid to recoup losses
Lynx Air is selling off everything from life jackets to oxygen masks as it tries to recoup a portion of the losses it suffered before filing for creditor protection earlier this year.