A former Scott County Health Department employee has pled guilty to computer tampering in Scott County Court.
35 year old Deidre S. Kirchner of Roodhouse pled guilty to the charge on Thursday after negotiations. Kirchner is the former Office Manager at the Scott County Health Department. According to employment records, Kirchner worked with the Health Department from January to December of last year.
Kirchner had a warrant issued for her arrest on May 3rd on the tampering charge along with a charge of theft between $500 and $10,000. Kirchner was later arrested on May 17th, posted bond and was released the same day.
According to court documents, the Scott County Treasurer’s Department and the Farmer’s State Bank branch in Winchester noticed some alleged irregularities in the deposit of checks for the health department. The Scott County Health Department also allegedly discovered unauthorized access and alteration of a computer network and program, which allegedly had data deleted or changed.
Kirchner was sentenced to 30 months second chance probation, 100 hours of community service, a $500 county fine, and ordered to pay $4,658.76 in restitution to the county. The theft charge was dismissed per the plea.