WJJQ LOCAL NEWS
Women accused of stealing from Boy Scouts sentenced
A woman charged with
stealing more than $7,700 from Tomahawk’s Boy Scout Troop 548 was sentenced in Lincoln
County Circuit Court Monday to 45 days in jail and ordered to pay full
restitution to the troop.
Kerri L. Gallenbeck, 34, was
serving as the troop’s treasurer when she transferred the troop’s money for her
own purposes between April and June of 2008. After Gordon Lovsletten, the troop’s
committee chair, was notified in July 2008 by the bank that the troop’s account
was overdrawn, he went to the police. Following an investigation, Gallenbeck
was charged with 14 counts of misdemeanor theft. Gallenbeck pleaded no contest to two counts Monday,
with the remaining 12 counts dismissed and read into the record at sentencing.
Speaking at the sentencing
hearing, Lovsletten said his primary wish is for the troop to be made whole
again through restitution. Gallenbeck has paid back the full $7,766 she took
from the troop.
Lovsletten said he also
wanted to see Gallenbeck serve some jail time so she could think about the
consequences of what she did. The boys in the troop worked hard to earn the
money, he said, which was meant to pay their way for summer camp and other
outings.
Judge Glenn Hartley agreed
that some jail time would be appropriate. He sentenced her to 45 days in jail,
with 13 days credit for time already served. Gallenbeck has moved to Flint,
Michigan and spent 13 days in jail while awaiting extradition back to
Wisconsin. Gallenbeck may serve the jail time in Michigan, if Michigan will
allow it, Hartley said. Hartley chose not to place Gallenbeck on probation
because she would then not be allowed to leave Wisconsin. Because she has
relocated to Michigan and has a child, Hartley said that would be a greater
disruption to her life than a jail sentence.
Speaking on her own behalf,
Gallenbeck said she felt deep regret over what she had done. She said she’s come
to realize that she’s not a bad person, she just did something that was
terribly wrong.
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