Woman who stole from Corbin preschool asking judge again to let her out of jail early

A former Corbin Preschool Center bookkeeper is again asking a Whitley Circuit Judge to let her out of prison early on shock probation, but this time she has arranged to pay back a small part of the money she owes the center in restitution.

On Oct. 5, Circuit Judge Dan Ballou sentenced Donna Logan, 36, to 10 years in prison and ordered her to pay $7,220 in restitution.

In all, Logan took nearly $42,000 from a fund at the center meant to help children, and she told Ballou during her sentencing hearing that she did it in order to buy things for her own three children.

During an early December hearing, Ballou told her attorney, Warren Scoville, that while he sympathized with some of his arguments, he was concerned that Logan hadn’t arranged to pay "one red cent" back in restitution yet.

On Dec. 10, Ballou turned down Logan’s request for shock probation.

Five days later, Scoville sent a letter to Ballou and Commonwealth’s Attorney Allen Trimble, which included a receipt for a $500 payment that an acquaintance, Wes Johnson, made on her behalf.

On Dec. 23, Scoville filed another motion asking that she be granted shock probation in the case.

In the motion, Scoville reiterates earlier arguments that Logan is a "poster child" for shock probation, and notes that her husband and three children heavily rely on her for financial support.

The motion is set for a hearing before Ballou on Feb. 1.

A defendant can apply for shock probation after serving 30 to 90 days in prison. Shock probation is designed for first offense, non-violent offenders, and works under the theory that a short jail or prison stay will shock them in behaving and obeying the law.

Trimble hasn’t filed a response to the motion yet, but has previously objected to Logan being granted shock probation.
Logan is currently incarcerated at the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley.

She allegedly stole the money from an account entitled Parents for Play, in which parents of children that attended the Corbin Preschool Center would donate money for projects or events at the school. Initially, the account was used for the purchase and installation of playground equipment at the school. The playground was completed in the fall of 2005, but money remained in the account and it was used to purchase school supplies and other items.

Preschool officials were first alerted to the alleged theft when a security officer from Cumberland Valley National Bank brought them some suspicious checks cashed on the account at the bank.

Because the checks were cashed at area banks throughout the Tri-County area, Logan had faced theft related charges in Knox, Laurel and Whitley counties.