Most-read stories of the week: Kaitlyn Braun sentencing, new shape discovered, romance scam

'This crime has ruined me': Victims of doula defrauder share stories

Doulas who were deceived and defrauded by a Brantford, Ont. woman who faked being pregnant to obtain care under false pretenses had their chance to speak in court Wednesday.

Kaitlyn Braun was expected to be sentenced the same day, but the judge decided to reserve the judgement for Feb. 14. Braun has pleaded guilty to 21 charges including fraud, mischief and committing indecent acts.

In victim impact statements, read in court, doulas described the lasting trauma and profound emotional toll their experiences with Braun created.

Braun also read her own statement to the court saying, in part, there’s “a strong sense of shame when I think of the pain that I caused.”

New shape discovered by University of Waterloo scientist makes TIME's Best Inventions of 2023 list

A University of Waterloo scientist has made a discovery which has found its way onto TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 list.

Craig Kaplan, an associate professor in computer science, helped discover an “einstein” – a longstanding mathematical problem deemed impossible for more than 60 years.

An einstein is a formation of shapes that perfectly interlocks with one another, without gaps or overlaps, like the bricks that assemble a house. In an einstein, the pattern of shapes never repeats.

Until recently, scientists had yet to discover a shape that could create such a pattern.

“The first stirrings of this problem in mathematics were in the early 1960s,” said Kaplan.

Strangers step up to help man living in a truck with his dogs

 

Members of a local Facebook group decided to take action after hearing about a man who was living in his truck in a Waterloo parking lot.

George was once a successful programming analyst and never imagined that he would end up living in a vehicle with his two dogs.

“The homeless shelters, they’re all full, they won’t even put you on a list anymore because they just got too many [people waiting],” he told CTV News.

George had a place to live until two-and-a-half years ago, when the owner decided to sell the property.

With high housing prices and nowhere else to go, George made the tough decision to live in a tent in Toronto. He eventually moved to Waterloo Region and has been living in his truck ever since.

George and Debbie Pelletier. (Submitted)

Schneider family land donation hits bureaucratic road block in Wilmot Township

Since 2020, the Schneider’s have been trying to donate over 230 acres of land in Wilmot Township.

“It's property that has been owned by the Schneider family for well over 40 years, and they have done an absolute outstanding job in terms of stewardship of the wetlands and woods and everything that can be found here,” explained Stephanie Sobek-Swant, the executive director of the rare Charitable Research Reserve.

The family has allowed the public to use the land for recreational activities like hiking and cross country skiing for decades. Despite their willingness to give away the property for free, the transfer to the rare Charitable Research Reserve has been bogged down in bureaucratic mess.

“It's a big gift the family is making,” said Sobek-Swant. “This should be really a good experience for them, it should be celebratory. They have given so much to this community already, so it's been a frustrating experience to be met with this level of red tape and these delays.”

The issue is over parking. The Township of Wilmot said in order to keep the land open to the public there needs to be adequate and safe public parking.

The Schneider property that is current open for public use. (Jeff Pickel/CTV Kitchener)

Man wanted for romance scam in Waterloo, Ont. arrested at airport

A Kitchener, Ont. man is accused of posing as a foreign currency investor as part of a romance scam. Waterloo regional police said the alleged scheme was reported in Aug. 2023.

Investigators learned the 28-year-old man began a romantic relationship with the female victim who was convinced to invest approximately $200,000, which was used to support the man’s lifestyle.

On Monday, the WRPS Commercial Fraud Unit, with the assistance of the Canadian Border Services Agency, arrested the man at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Heart cookies. (Source: Pexels)