A Bangor woman charged with stealing nearly $7,000 from the collection plates at Columbia Street Baptist Church pleaded guilty Monday to theft by unauthorized taking.
Brenda Dresser, 66, was sentenced to 364 days with all but 10 days suspended, to be followed by one year of probation. She is to begin serving her sentence on June 10.
In addition to prison time, Dresser was ordered to pay $6,862 to the church in restitution and to perform 250 hours of community service. She is expected to pay $800 toward restitution before entering the Penobscot County Jail next week.
Dresser admitted that she stole the money between 2016 and Easter 2018 while counting money and checks placed in collection plates during Sunday services. She did not address the judge at Monday’s sentencing at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor.
The resolution was the result of a plea agreement with the Penobscot County district attorney’s office.
Leadership at the church agreed with the sentence, according to a letter signed by the church’s senior pastor, Rev. Stan Moody, submitted to the judge. He called the resolution “reasonable and offering ample opportunity for restoration.”
Moody said in the letter that it is uncommon for churches and nonprofit organizations to report thefts to law enforcement.
“The question with which we were faced was, if we let this go, how might there be authentic healing, and how might we be assured that this would not happen to another organization if there were nothing on the record?” he said. “We knew of no other path than to let restorative justice take its course. To that end, we entrust the DA’s office and the court to put into place the necessary tools to lead to an ultimate result that will put to the test the healing power of forgiveness.”
Church officials became suspicious of Dresser when a longtime member said the amount of money the church recorded as him donating did not match his own calculations. As with many houses of worship, Columbia Street Baptist sends out annual letters listing members’ annual contributions for tax purposes. The IRS considers such donations tax deductible.
The church caught Dresser on camera taking money while handling donations last year after the Easter Sunday service on April 11, 2018.