Woman sentenced on forgery, theft in office charges

CHILLICOTHE – A former corrections officer accused of theft in office and forgery was sentenced to two years of community control Monday and to serve 15 days in the Ross County Jail.

Erica Spradlin, 25, a former corrections officer at Ross Correctional Institution, was accused of forging the warden's signature in order to receive leave from the National Guard in November 2013, Ross County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Marks said. She was also alleged to have forged a doctor's signature and was paid for time she took off from work as a result.

Spradlin was initially charged with one fourth-degree felony count of theft in office, one third-degree felony count of tampering with records and one fifth-degree felony count of forgery.

Spradlin was sentenced in Ross County Common Pleas Court on the theft in office and forgery counts, and paid back a restitution of $1,962, which she had been paid during leave by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation of Correction.

Marks said Spradlin was not sentenced to serve prison time because of a lack of a criminal record.