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Woman Sentenced For Stealing From Elderly Mother Won't Serve Jail Time

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- A former financial secretary at Golden High School who pleaded guilty to stealing from her own mother won't spend any time behind bars.

Judith Eakins was sentenced on Wednesday to six years probation with six weeks in the work release program. She pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2012 to attempted theft of an at-risk person over $500.

Eakins, 53, admitted to stealing more than $32,000 from her 92-year-old mother.

Eakins' mother, Dorothy Morvay, suffered from advanced dementia. Eakins used her mother's Social Security and pension income for her own personal expenses.

Prosecutors also said Eakins claimed to be an only child and listed her brother as a relative to have "no contact" with Morvay.

Eakins' brother was not informed that his sister placed their mother in a nursing home. He filed a missing persons report with Wheat Ridge police when he could not locate his mother. When police located Morvay in a nursing home they were able to tell him that she was safe but could not tell him where she was living.

By the time Westminster police began investigating the theft charges against Eakins, Morvay's dementia was so advanced that she didn't recognize her own son when he went to see her.

Morvay passed away in March.

Eakins was arrested by police in Golden on Jan. 9 and charged with theft and embezzlement of public property. Eakins was employed at Golden High School from Oct. 1999 to Nov. 2012.

According to court records in Sept. 2012 an internal audit at the high school revealed losses in numerous school accounts managed by Eakins between 2009 and 2012.

Discrepancies in receipts indicated that cash turned in to Eakins was not deposited into the school's account. The audit team also said it appeared that financial documents had been manipulated.

Eakins is suspected of taking nearly $156,000 during the three year period.

Some of the money that Eakins is alleged to have embezzled came from ticket sales to school events such as prom, concerts, drama productions and homecoming events.

As staff, Eakins worked the door or gate at some of these events and personally collected money for ticket sales.

Eakins is also suspected of having misused the school credit card and taken property she purchased with the card for her personal use.

The investigation found Eakins allegedly spent the money on a computer tablet, dinners, gifts, a $10,000 DVD collection and more.

An audit found the managers of the school activities did not keep adequate records and did not obtain receipts when giving money to Eakins.

The Jefferson County School District issued a statement stating they have financial controls in place at every school but that Eakins falsified reports and lied.

Eakins has yet to be prosecuted for the charges stemming from her employment at Golden High School.

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