Kevin Hall
MOULTRIE — The former site director of the YMCA’s after-school program at Okapilco Elementary School has been charged with stealing money from the program.
Kylie Nicole Ellison, 24, of 1715 Pine Circle, surrendered to law enforcement Monday morning, according to reports at the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office. She is charged with theft by taking.
Sheriff’s investigator Shannon Hart said Ellison received money from parents for their children to attend the Y’s PrimeTime program at Okapilco. She’s accused of then marking the children absent and pocketing the money.
Hart said investigators interviewed six or seven parents whose children were affected, and others have contacted the sheriff’s office since the investigation began.
The alleged thefts occurred over an eight-month period from Aug. 1, 2007, through March 20, 2008. About $6,200 is believed to have been taken, although Hart said that figure could rise as more parents are interviewed.
Hart said Ellison was tripped up by a second roster kept at the program. The students who were marked absent on the main roll were marked as having eaten snacks according to the snack roster, which is maintained by a different person and audited by the state.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted the sheriff’s office in the investigation.
