Rochelle Phyllis Arends: Woman who preyed on elderly men pleads guilty to burglary and attempted stealing

Serial thief Rochelle Arends has pleaded guilty to breaking into a Lockyer home and trying to steal a man’s wallet on the same day. Rochelle Phyllis Arends, 26, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court via video link from Bandyup Women’s Prison on one charge of home burglary and commit, and one charge of stealing from the person of another. During the court appearance, the stealing charge was changed to attempted. Both offences happened in Lockyer on August 13. Arends had pleaded not guilty to both charges on September 9 but changed her plea to guilty. In a previous appearance, bail was revoked for Arends who failed to appear at a curfew check on her first day of reporting because of a disagreement with her mother. The breach occurred on August 14, just two days after she was released from custody on bail. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan labelled the breach an “abject failure”, saying Arends gave “zero explanation beyond ‘I had an argument with my mother’.” Arends previously was sentenced to 19 months jail in 2021 for stealing more than $100,000 from vulnerable senior citizens around Albany. She would offer her elderly victims sexual favours in order to gain their trust. In an act of predatory manipulation, Arends convinced an 84-year-old to give her $50,080 over 66 transactions which she used to fuel her and her partner’s methamphetamine addiction. Arends also targeted two other elderly men, one who said he would have difficulty trusting other people after being “embarrassed” and was “made a fool of” in a victim impact statement provided to the court. Arends is due to appear in Albany Magistrates Court on November 16 for sentencing.