A South Australian mother who fabricated a story that her six-year-old son had eye cancer to fuel her gambling addiction has been sentenced to jail, with a judge describing her actions as 'calculated, cruel and manipulative'.
Details of the case
Michelle Bodzsar, 45, from West Lakes in Adelaide's west, pleaded guilty to 11 charges related to the deception. Judge Geraldine Davison noted that Bodzsar showed 'limited insight' into the harm she caused, calling the deception a 'form of child abuse'.
Over several weeks in late 2024, the hairdresser tricked her husband, extended family, friends, school parents, and even her young son into believing he was seriously ill. She shaved his head and eyebrows, made him wear an eye patch, sit in a wheelchair, and take unnecessary medication. She told loved ones his prognosis was grim and that doctors had warned her to 'expect the worst'.
'He was dependent upon you, he trusted you and believed what you told him,' Judge Davison said during sentencing.
Financial scam
Bodzsar scammed donors out of $11,500, with individual payments ranging from $500 to $3,000. Parents from the school community were left shocked and furious when the truth emerged. Not even her husband knew; the court heard Ben Miller only discovered the scam when police arrived at his door.
'No sentence can ever justify what was done to my children,' he told the court.
Sentence
Judge Davison said the offending was far too serious for home detention. 'The community would be outraged — and rightly so,' she said. Bodzsar was sentenced to four years and three months behind bars with a non-parole period of two years and four months. With time already served, she could be released this time next year.
