A Blackshear woman pled guilty in Pierce County Superior Court last week to taking over $24,000 from the Pierce County High School Competition Cheer Booster Program. Kristen Ansleigh Godwin, 38,entered a guilty plea before Waycross Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Kight last Thursday. Godwin was sentenced to five years probation under first offender status since she had no prior criminal record. She was also ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $24,257.93, which she stole from the Pierce County Competition Cheer Boosters. Court records show Godwin paid the restitution amount in full on the day she entered her plea. The court also banned her from academic and athletic events at Pierce County High School and forbids her from being a treasurer for any public organization.
Godwin
Competition Cheer Coach Mandy Beverly and several about a dozen members of the cheerleading team entered statements to the court saying how “ashamed” and “embarrassed” they were over the incident.
Godwin was arrested in December of last year and was charged with one count of felony theft by taking.
The incident came to light right after the team won the state championship during a routine review of school booster accounts, which revealed financial discrepancies within the booster program’s records. An internal inquiry by school officials led to a formal criminal investigation by the Blackshear Police Department.
Investigators determined that the $24,257.93 in privately raised booster funds had been unlawfully taken. These funds were raised through booster club activities and did not involve any public or taxpayer money. Evidence indicates the funds were misappropriated through failure to deposit cash from fundraising events, unauthorized transfers of booster club money into personal accounts, personal use of a booster club debit card and improper cash withdrawals.
