CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Cassandra Franklin, accused of stealing more than $120,000 from Camdenton school lunch money, will spend five years on probation while she pays it all back.

Franklin was charged in December of 2014, not long after being fired from Camdenton R-III School District’s Food Services department. Her firing came after district personnel confronted her regarding missing funds. She had been stealing from student lunch money deposits since 2009, at a rate of about $130 per day.

On Wednesday, April 19, Franklin submitted her guilty plea in Camden County court. Her plea came on an agreement with special prosecutor Jon Morris, of Laclede County. Camden County Prosecutor Michael Gilley recused himself early in the process, and Morris took the case. Originally charged with Class B Felony Stealing, Franklin pleaded guilty on Wednesday to Class B Felony Receiving Stolen Property, according to Judge Peggy Richardson, who announced the amended charge at the beginning of Wednesday’s hearing. Richardson is the newest addition to Missouri’s 26th Circuit: the result of a bill pushed by State Rep. Rocky Miller in the 2016 legislative session to add a third judge to the overburdened circuit.

The terms of Franklin’s guilty plea include five years of probation, without prison time, but she must pay back the $127,123.22 she stole from the Camdenton R-III school district, making monthly payments at a minimum of $1,000 per month. The cash bond she posted after charges were filed will be applied to court costs and any remainder will be applied to her restitution payback. If she violates the terms of the probation, she could end up in prison.

Her probation will not be supervised through the state’s parole system, but will be a court-supervised probation. As a result, the payments will be submitted directly to the county prosecuting attorney’s office, so the prosecutor will immediately know if the payment terms are violated.

No representative from the school district was present at the hearing, but the district did agree to the plea deal.

0
0
0
0
0

(0 Ratings)