A former administrative assistant in the political science department charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the university pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and repaid her debt Friday.

Rhonda Musgrave, 41, of Anna, faced felony charges of theft and unlawful use of a credit card. She was charged with spending between $10,000 and $100,000 of university money at several businesses for her personal use. Those charges were reduced after Musgrave pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor and agreed to pay more than $20,000, said Deputy Circuit Clerk Christian Hale.

Musgrave, who pleaded not guilty to the charges in April, faces two years of probation.

Advertisement

Hale said the felony charges are not often dropped as a result of plea agreements in Jackson County court.

Musgrave used a cashier’s check to pay the university $20,000, plus $645 to cover standard court and probation fees, a court report stated.

SIUC Police Chief Todd Sigler said in an e-mail Tuesday he could not comment on specifics of the case because he was out of town and did not have access to the information.

“As far as the SIUC Police Department is concerned, we are satisfied with the guilty plea,” Sigler wrote.

University police began investigating the theft on Dec. 10 and finished the next day, according to an April statement from Sigler. Musgrave was charged on March 4.

At a June 24 preliminary hearing, Jackson County Assistant Public Defender Margaret Degen told Judge Charles Grace a plea agreement was in the works. Court records listed evidence including more than 63 pages of receipts and a two-page document of fraudulent purchases made with the university credit card. A list of university-employed witnesses was also in the record.

The original court date of July 14 was postponed after the prosecution submitted new evidence. Musgrave’s plea preceded the Sept. 22 trial date.

Advertisement*

Jeff Engelhardt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 265 or [email protected].

Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 263 or [email protected].