Murray Bridge prosecutor sentenced for helping disgraced magistrate Bob Harrap

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A former Murray Bridge police prosecutor has been sentenced for helping a disgraced magistrate avoid a drivers’ licence disqualification.

Abigail Rebecca Foulkes was put on a 12-month good behaviour bond on Friday for deceiving an officer of the court.

On May 19, Foulkes took the fall for Bob Harrap – a magistrate with whom she was in a relationship at the time – by falsely claiming she had been driving a car which had been caught speeding.

By letting herself be manipulated, she broke the law and risked a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Instead, Judge Paul Slattery ordered her to pay a $200 bond and to remain on her best behaviour for 12 months.

The judge suggested Harrap had guilted her into the lie.

“Pressure was brought upon you by Mr Harrap to take the (demerit) points and to obviate him losing his licence,” he said in the District Court.

“On two occasions you said to Mr Harrap ‘I don’t really have a choice, do I?’

“His response was that you did not have to take the points but there would be consequences: he would be off the road for six months and that would present difficulties for his work and family commitments.”

Judge Slattery said it was the duty of a senior police officer to resist that pressure.

He noted that the consequences had been “devastating” for Foulkes’ career with SA Police, which had since ended; that she had experienced depression, anxiety and stress as a result; and that she was extremely remorseful.

Harrap was sentenced to at least 12 months’ prison for his offending, which was subject to an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.