A former Chicago Public Schools teaching assistant was sentenced to four years of probation after she admitted stealing more than $24,000 from a Northwest Side school to pay off credit card bills, prosecutors said.
Sonia Lopez, 50, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of felony theft before Judge Maura Slattery-Boyle.
In addition to probation, Slattery-Boyle ordered Lopez to repay $24,544.69 to the school that she stole from, said Lisa Gordon, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office
Lopez had served as a teaching assistant and worked in other positions at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, 3900 N. Lawndale Ave., prosecutors said when she was arrested and charged in August. Lopez had worked for the school since 1994.
Her responsibilities included collecting student fees, making bank deposits and paying bills, prosecutors said last year.
Prosecutors determined that Lopez had issued 14 fraudulent checks to herself totaling more than $21,000. Lopez hid the thefts by falsifying school records to make it appear that they were for legitimate purchases.
Lopez also pocketed nearly $3,000 in cash collected from students for fees and other payments, prosecutors said.
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