Kaitlyn Braun sentencing delayed as judge and lawyers discuss jail time for woman who faked pregnancies

A Hamilton judge will wait at least until June to sentence Kaitlyn Braun for faking pregnancies and fraudulently receiving doula care on two occasions while on house arrest for similar crimes. 

Braun was before the Ontario Court of Justice in Hamilton Friday for what was scheduled as a sentencing, but Justice Joe Fiorucci said he had several questions about a joint submission that Crown and defence lawyers made suggesting a five-year sentence.

Braun, 26, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of obtaining by false pretence services under $5,000 and two harassment-related charges.

"This is a long-standing pattern for Ms. Braun," assistant Crown attorney Simon McNaughton told the court in January.  

Braun previously pleaded guilty to 21 separate charges, including fraud, indecent acts, false pretences and mischief, after pretending to have experienced pregnancies and stillbirths between June 2022 and February 2023. 

She was sentenced to two years of house arrest, as requested by both the defence and Crown, and despite a judge's concern she would reoffend, which she did. 

The joint submission presented Friday suggests the time left on Braun's two-year house arrest be served in custody, followed by an additional three years.

Justice and lawyer say Braun needs mental health care  

Fiorucci and the lawyers went back and forth discussing what should factor into the sentence. Much of the discussion centred on how long was appropriate and what mental health support Braun could get while incarcerated. 

"The first time [Braun] came back into the community, she did not do well," Fiorucci said, adding that no matter what he decides, "that sentence is not going to protect the public forever unless something real happens with her mental health."

McNaughton said part of the thinking behind the joint submission is that while incarcerated, Braun would be unable to reoffend and have access to services such as mental health counselling. 

Braun's lawyer Alison Macdonald said her client supports the joint submission for that reason. "She wants to get that assistance."

"We hope it's available in the penitentiary," Fiorucci said, adding it's very hard to know what an individual will actually have access to. "It's never something you can have faith will happen and be successful."

When he finished asking the lawyers about the submissions, Fiorucci asked Macdonald if Braun had anything she wanted to say. Braun, who was in court and appeared to be listening intently throughout the proceedings, shook her head.

Fiorucci said he would consider the submissions and set June 9 as the date he will sentence Braun. He noted receipt of two victim impact statements but they were not read in court Friday.

As court wrapped up for the day, Braun sat doubled over and appeared to be crying.

'Offender lacks insight': crown lawyer

The latest charges are for actions Braun took while serving house arrest for previous convictions, in April 2024. She contacted an organization in Hamilton that supports parents in crisis, McNaughton said in January of that year.

Braun gave a fake name and claimed to be 19 weeks pregnant, that her baby wasn't going to make it full term and she needed support. A social worker volunteer got in touch and they spoke on the phone for 18 hours over two days before the volunteer discovered Braun wasn't pregnant. 

A week later, Braun contacted a doula over text. She again gave a false name and claimed she was 21 weeks pregnant, experiencing pregnancy loss and her partner had left her after finding out, McNaughton said. Over the next three days, Braun and the doula exchanged over 600 texts until the doula called the hospital and discovered Braun wasn't there. 

Information collected about Braun "makes it clear the offender lacks insight into her behaviour and motivation and from a young age appears to be fascinated by pregnancy and child birth," McNaughton said. "There appears to be a sexual dimension to these crimes." 

One of Braun's earlier victims said experience made her less trusting

Some of Braun's victims from the initial set of convictions spoke previously to CBC. Some also shared their experience in victim impact statements. 

London doula Seanna Hayes said in her victim impact statement in January, 2024, that Braun was her first-ever client and that she was "utterly drained and emotionally defeated" by the experience with her.

"Since my time with Ms. Braun, I'm fearful of new clients. I'm now less trusting of those seeking out doula support. This is unacceptable to me as someone who wants to give the best support to people," said her statement.

The story was also the subject of a podcast from the CBC and BBC World Service — The Con: Kaitlyn's Baby.