The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

Seven months after her initial court appearance on 17 charges including criminal impersonation, forgery and identity theft, Julie Thayer reached a plea deal with the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. On Tuesday, July 18, Thayer pled guilty to one count of identity theft and an added count of second degree forgery. She was sentenced to 30 months probation.

In late December 2022, Thayer was charged with three counts of identity theft, 12 counts of forgery and two counts of criminal impersonation; all charges stemming from her time as Director of the Haxtun Community Childcare Center in Haxtun.

The charges in December came following a resolution to a separate case in which Thayer pled guilty to a charge of child abuse earlier in the year. That charge also is a result from her time as Director at the Center. She received probation in the child abuse case as part of the plea agreement reached with the DA’s office.

Thayer appeared before District Court Judge Justin Haenlein in a Holyoke courtroom this week with her attorney, Justine Nicol. At the start of the hearing, Thayer’s lawyer presented the judge with a plea agreement reached with District Attorney Travis Sides, also present in court.

The agreement reached by both sides allowed Thayer to pled guilty to original count one, identity theft, a class four felony, and added count 18, second degree forgery, a class 1 misdemeanor. Counts two through 17 were dismissed.

Once Thayer formally entered the plea agreement, Haenlein moved onto immediate sentencing. During his time with the Judge, DA Sides explained that while working as the Director of the childcare facility, Thayer forged documents to receive State and Federal money for the Center. He said that while she didn’t personally benefit or keep the money for herself, Thayer did cause significant long term damage to the Center by her actions. Sides explained that even now with Thayer no longer a part of the local daycare, the organization pays an extremely high amount in insurance premiums due to her actions.

He said that during her interview with investigators, Thayer said she doesn’t know why she did what she did.

“There is added harm that the center can’t get back in restitution,” Sides said.

The local District Attorney asked that Thayer be sentenced to some community service hours to try to mend the relationship that has been broken with the Haxtun community. Sides said Thayer forged signatures of multiple people from within the Haxtun community without their consent. The community service hours, he hoped, would help her show some sort of remorse.

Before sentencing, Thayer’s attorney addressed the court. She said that while Thayer did forge documents, she had no personal gain from doing so and didn’t take any of the money. She said that Thayer did what she did to help the Center receive additional money during trying times of the COVID pandemic.

Nicol said documents in question pertain to food funding from the government and sunscreen forms. She admitted her client inflated attendance logs at the center but stressed that any financial gain from the wrongdoings went to benefit the Center for things such as purchasing food.

The attorney went on to say that as Director, Thayer was faced with understaffing issues and was not rightfully managed or treated fairly by the board of directors for the Center at the time.

Nicol apologized to the court on Thayer’s behalf and told the Judge that there is in fact remorse from her client.

Thayer did not take time offered to make a statement to the court, only answering yes or no questions asked of her by the Judge.

Ultimately, Thayer received a 30-month deferred sentence for the charge of identity theft to run concurrent with a 30 month probation sentence on the added count of second degree forgery. Those two sentences are to run concurrent with a probation sentence she is currently serving on the previous child abuse charge.

Additionally, she was ordered to pay $4,114 in restitution to the current childcare facility beginning with a $500 payment at the time of sentencing. She has 18 months to pay the remainder of the balance. Thayer also received 24 hours of useful public service.

At the end of the hearing, Judge Haenlein said he recognized that this case is unique but told Thayer he believed she could turn things around and five to 10 years down the road put this situation behind her.