Jail imposed in embezzlement case
SANDPOINT — A Laclede woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling public funds while working at the University of Idaho Extension Office was given a suspended prison term and ordered Wednesday to serve 102 days in jail.
Under the terms of the jail sentence imposed by 1st District Judge Charles Hosack, Kristan Clar Peacock will serve 25 full days in jail and 77 nights.
A tearful Peacock declined to address the court before the sentence was handed down.
Hosack suspended a two-year prison term and placed Peacock on supervised probation for one year. She was also ordered her to pay $35,395 in restitution to the university and Bonner County.
The sentence exceeds the defense recommendation in the grand theft case, but falls short of the state’s recommended sentence.
Peacock, 43, pleaded guilty late last year to embezzling money from the extension office from 2004 to 2009. She was the extension office manager, although her salary was paid by Bonner County.
Special prosecutor Barry McHugh recommended a six-month jail sentence because Peacock’s betrayal of the public’s trust was a pattern rather than an isolated incident.
McHugh called Sandpoint Police Det. Corey Coon to the stand to testify that Peacock wrote at least 38 checks to herself and wrote dozens more to make payments on personal lines of consumer credit.
“There were multiple violations of that trust,” said McHugh, who added that a six-month sentence would demonstrate to others that embezzlement is an offense with consequences.
Peacock’s defense counsel, Bryce Powell, recommended no jail time and said his client’s actions were a desperate attempt to cope with mounting medical bills of her and her husband’s only child.
The defense filed an outline documenting a lengthy and costly odyssey to pin down a diagnosis. The most recent diagnosis, which confirmed an initial diagnosis, was spastic displegia, a form of cerebral palsy affecting the child’s lower extremities.
“Somewhere along the way she lost her values and ideals,” said Powell.
If jail was to be a facet of the sentence, Powell recommended Peacock serve it on Sundays and weeknights so she could continue to work and care for her son. McHugh did not object to the work release/furlough arrangement.
Peacock came to the hearing with a check to pay for restitution in the case and her court file contained scores of letters attesting to Peacock’s character.
But Hosack noted that others in the community are faced with trials similar to the ones endured by Peacock, but they did not resort to criminal conduct.
“The (state’s sentencing) goal of punishment does have to be recognized,” said Hosack. “It is the kind of thing, if for no other reason than general deterrence, where a punishment has to be imposed.”
Hosack ordered Peacock report to the jail on March 30 to begin serving a 90-day sentence composed of 13 Sundays and 77 nights. He tacked on another 12 consecutive Sundays upon completion of first 90 days.
Bonner County Commission Chairman Lewis Rich attended the hearing and afterward said he was disappointed by the sentence.
“I don’t feel like the public was treated fairly at all,” said Rich, who does not believe the restitution covers the entire amount of money Peacock actually misappropriated.
Moreover, the impact on Peacock’s former colleagues was not addressed during the hearing, Rich said.
Powell had no further comment after the hearing.
One of Peacock’s former colleagues also points out that the child’s medical costs were covered through an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare program for disabled children, Shriners Hospital for Children, community fundraisers and a charitable doctor.
Although Peacock eventually cooperated with the investigation, it was not until after her former co-workers were hauled in for questioning and handwriting samples.
“Why was everyone in that office, some who truly cared for her, investigated? I have never met a handwriting expert until this event. When he left, I went to the restroom to throw up,” one co-worker said in a letter submitted to the court.