"We'll get all of our money back," current team treasurer Julia Rang told News Center 7's Monica Castro on Thursday. "It looks a lot brighter. It does feel like justice was kind of given today."
Thursday, former team finance manager Christina Miller pleaded guilty to two theft counts accusing her of stealing $32,000 over a two-year period.
Rang said the money Miller admitted embezzling "is all we had."
The judge accepted the guilty plea, which was a condition to grant Miller intervention in lieu of conviction due to mental health, and sentenced Miller to five year's probation, said Rang, who was in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing.
Miller could be sent to prison if she runs afoul of the law at any time during the probation period.
Rang said the sentencing was like a weight lifted off the shoulders of the team and she praised the judge and prosecutor because they "really listened to us."
The team was $10,000 in the hole when the season started, Rang said, but parents and the community came through and the girls [on the team] were able to finish the season, win championships again.
Now that restitution is part of the probation order, "the equipment we were supposed to buy last year, we're actually going to be able to buy this year," Rang said.
"We can now continue to support the youth in the Beavercreek, Fairborn and Xenia promote swimming and have a lot of fun like we've always had."
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