A bank teller caught skimming thousands of dollars in cash off a client's account falls more under the naive category than the truly criminal, the chief territorial court judge said this morning.

Judge Heino Lilles noted it was inevitable 23-year-old Kristine Sarah Snyder would be caught the employee swipe card she had to use for her job pointed straight at her.

'Her plan floundered on her naivete,' Lilles said.

As he read out his sentence decision, he noted that every time a Royal Bank employee enters the bank's computer system, she must use an identification card that tracks her every move.

'As an offender, Miss Snyder is more naive and immature than sinister.'

Once Steve Jones, a Haines Junction man with an account at the Whitehorse Royal Bank branch, noted money was missing from his account, he went to the bank with his concerns.

Bank records, courtesy of Snyder's employee ID card, showed she'd entered the man's account, issued herself a debit card, changed Jones' personal identification number that protects his account and starting withdrawing cash.

She took money 10 times over eight days, though she used the card 11 times. In one case the withdrawal was denied because she tried for too much, exceeding Jones' withdrawal limit.

Snyder quit her bank job shortly after the theft.

Lilles noted the amount taken was a small one, and that though Snyder's actions constitute a breach of trust, it's also on the low end. This certainly wasn't a large-scale fraud perpetrated over a long period of time, he said.

Snyder pleaded guilty last December to stealing $6,101 from his account money the bank has since returned to Jones. This morning, Lilles handed her a three-month conditional sentence to be followed by one year of probation.

In that time, she must start paying back the money she stole, though as she's currently unemployed, that payment will change as her income changes. Lilles ordered she repay at least $100 per month.

As well, she must take any addictions help, credit counselling or pre-natal classes her supervisor orders.

Her young age and the fact she's pregnant with twins both lead him to think she's a strong candidate for rehabilitation, Lilles said.

He disagreed with the Crown's suggestion Snyder took the money out of greed, noting the young woman had a modest lifestyle but didn't have the means to support it.

She owes $17,000 on her 2002 Honda Civic, and has racked up a credit card bill in excess of $4,000.

The money she took was used to pay off the credit card debt.

A psychologist who assessed the young woman wrote that she 'refreshingly' didn't blame her problems on anyone else, but took full responsibility for her crime.

However, Snyder 'was not entirely honest with her assessors,' Lilles noted.

The young woman had said she'd taken the money to pay off a drug debt and that she struggled with alcohol and drugs.

It was later discovered she'd lied about her cocaine habit she doesn't have one and that the debt wasn't drug-related.

The young woman may have thought being a victim of drugs would be less shameful, Lilles suggested, noting the young woman is clearly embarrassed.

The judge noted the considerable media attention on the former bank teller's case, and the public stigma only a considerable amount of time will wash away, as a mitigating factor.

Snyder didn't tell her family about her criminal charge until she was forced to by the judge at the start of her sentencing.

Lilles noted that though confused, her family is supporting her, and that support is essential for her rehabilitation, he said.

The fact she lied to investigators initially, leading them to suspect Jones himself for the theft, makes him lean toward jail, said Lilles.

However, Snyder's youth and the fact she's much embarrassed and sorry for what she did suggest probation, the judge said.