Former Treasurer Pays Back $13,000

By Wiley Wood

Vanessa Millard, the former treasurer of the Botelle School Parent Teachers Organization (PTO), appeared in Bantam Superior Court on March 5. Arrested last October for stealing her organization’s funds, she produced a check in court for over $13,000 by way of restitution.

Millard had applied for the accelerated rehabilitation program, which allows first-time offenders to undergo a two-year probation period in place of imprisonment or other punishment. If probation is completed satisfactorily, the charges are dismissed, and her criminal record is wiped clean.

Several members of the Botelle PTO, alerted to Millard’s application, attended the hearing, where they read a statement opposing the granting of accelerated rehabilitation. They argued, in part, that a criminal record would keep Millard from putting any other organization at risk of a similar crime.

The court granted Millard entry into the accelerated program but ordered her to undergo psychiatric evaluation and counseling, and to perform 200 hours of community service. The court also barred Millard from holding a position of financial responsibility in any organization.

Millard’s next appearance at Bantam Superior Court is scheduled for April 8, 2014, at 10 a.m.