NORWICH – A Perry Browne teacher pleaded guilty to forgery charges on Monday after she admitted to stealing over $9,000 from the Purple Tornado Community Team by forging signatures on club checks.
Rebecca Evans, 49, of Norwich pleaded guilty to second-degree forgery, a class D felony, on Monday after admitting that she forged signatures to gain $9,385.65 in merchandise. She is scheduled to serve a year of interim probation, then three years of probation to follow.
Chenengo County Court Judge Frank Revoir Jr. said Evans paid back the full amount she owed to the club and if she hadn't it's possible she would have received a harsher sentence. She was sentenced to four years of probation.
If she commits another crime while on probation, court officials said she could face between two years and four months and seven years in prison. If she goes a year without another offense, her charges will be lowered to a misdemeanor level forgery.
Evans remains on the Norwich City School District payroll. Superintendent Gerard O'Sullivan said though Evans is still currently employed by the school, he will discuss her employment with the school's attorney in the near future.
He confirmed that shortly after her arrest the district began taking steps to fire Evans from her teaching position, after she refused to resign. He claimed Evans had admitted to committing the acts in a meeting with school officials.
