Serial pregnancy fraudster is arrested again just three months after being sentenced to house arrest for lying to doulas that she was expecting, then faking still births as they tried to help her.
A fantasist who tricked doulas into giving her naked massages by pretending to be pregnant has been arrested again, just three months after telling a court she was a “changed person”.
Kaitlyn Braun, 25, was sentenced to two years of home confinement in February after causing “immeasurable pain” to more than a dozen pregnancy support workers in Ontario with her stories of sexual assault and stillbirth.
The social worker did her utmost to keep up appearances, telling them she had a bleeding disorder and terminal cancer, and sending two of them a photo of a stillborn baby at the end of her treatment.
The news that she faces multiple new charges has left her previous victims feeling doubly betrayed.
“There’s been a lot of feelings within our group, a lot of conversations happening,” Amy Silva said. ‘The emotions are heated. Conversations are heated.
Kaitlyn Braun, 25, was sentenced to two years of home confinement in February after causing “immeasurable pain” to more than a dozen pregnancy support workers in Ontario with her stories of sexual assault and stillbirth
During the ordeal, Braun convinced the doulas she had a bleeding disorder and kept them on the phone while she pretended to undergo a medical procedure and then said she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
London-based doula Amy Silva said news of Braun’s new charges had shocked her previous victims: ‘Emotions are heated. Conversations are heated’
“It’s a hard place for all of us right now, and we’re all in different places on our healing journey and growing from all of this, which makes it a little harder for everyone to be thrown back into this.”
Some doulas supported Braun in person at her home in Brantford, others over the phone or via video chat.
She told some that her “pregnancy” was the result of sexual assault.
But it was Braun himself who was the sex offender, accused of forcing 19 victims to give her massages while she was physically naked, with the “intent to insult or insult them.”
One victim, Amy Perry, said her experience with Braun left her traumatized after eight days of trying to support the pregnancy faker.
Perry told CTV News last year that she helped Braun virtually and for free, adding, “The moans and sounds she made were very realistic, even during the last stages of labor – through menopause – she went so far that she had to throw up. which is normal.
“We really felt like there was an individual who was alone in the world going through something terrible, and we were just willing to set aside the scope of our practice and help her.”
Shauna Hayes, who also worked pro bono, claims Braun told her she had been sexually assaulted outside a hospital, so she initially refused to go.
Doula Shauna Hayes took to TikTok to reveal how she was duped by the Brantford fantasist
Abigail Dienesch, another victim, said she felt ‘violated’ after supporting Braun 24/7 on social media
The doula then took her to the hospital, where after several hours she continued to fake her contractions.
Her performance was so convincing that nurses thought they had found a heartbeat from the ‘baby’ before performing an ultrasound which showed she was not pregnant.
She then told her doula ‘I’m so confused’ and refused any psychiatric help from the hospital, despite having scans three weeks earlier in Hamilton which showed she was not pregnant.
“I just want her to stop,” Hayes said. ‘It’s not about punishment for me. It’s just about protecting other doulas and preventing them from going through what I went through.
Another victim, who did not want to be identified, said: “It’s bizarre and very sad that doulas have to check or doubt their clients. I want to be able to take people at their word.’
At her trial in December last year, she admitted 21 charges between June 2022 and February 2023 – including fraud, indecent behavior, false pretenses and mischief.
Her lawyers told the court she suffered from mental health problems, including memories of childhood sexual abuse, severe depression, generalized anxiety disorders and bipolar and borderline tendencies.
The court also heard she had made almost 200 hospital visits since 2006.
“I know that the words I say today do not take back what I did and they do not automatically bring about healing,” she said when she was sentenced.
‘What I did was ultimately very wrong, and I feel a strong sense of shame when I think of the hurt and pain I caused. I never wanted to be the person I became.
“I hope, however, that my words, together with my plan of action, show that I am a changed person.”
She sought out doulas – professionals who provide support during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum – and told them she had become pregnant after a sexual assault or had a stillbirth
Braun told the court she was a “changed person” when she was sentenced to two years of house arrest in February after admitting 21 charges
She was ordered to live with her mother, wear a GPS monitor, not use computers with internet access and not download social media apps.
Hamilton police arrested her last week on multiple criminal charges, including obtaining by false pretense, harassing communications and alleged violation of a probation order.
She is also accused of falsely requesting assistance related to pregnancy and childbirth between April 17 and 18.
“Today was tough,” Silva told CTV.
“We’re trying to figure out what to do and how to feel. And there is no manual on how to do that.’