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Milton woman ordered to pay restitution to church

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Susan M. Mehlert

MILTON — Hope Lutheran Church is more than ready to move on now that a theft case has been settled, a church official said.

The church at 335 Dairyland Drive, Milton, will receive nearly $2,300 in restitution after Susan M. Mehlert, a former church council member and director of the high school youth group, pleaded no contest to two charges of theft.

“We’re very happy that this has come to a closure and that restitution is being ordered,” said Scott Wasemiller, council president. “We wish there would’ve been an admittance to guilt, obviously, but we’re ready to move on.”

Mehlert’s attorney, Sara Eagle-Kjome, said neither she nor her client had any comment.

Mehlert, 44, of 9136 N. Raven Drive, Milton, was arrested in October after police said they caught her taking money from donation bags.

Later, church officials discovered Mehlert had been stealing money from the youth group by fudging account records, police said.

Mehlert pleaded no contest to theft charges in Rock County Court on June 20. In addition to restitution to the church, she was ordered to pay $400 in court fees and surcharges.

In May, Mehlert pleaded guilty to fraud in Dane County after police said she stole between $500 and $2,000 from student offerings at Martin Luther Christian Day School, Stoughton, where she served as administrator. She was ordered to pay $1,900 to the school.

Hope Lutheran has added some security measures to prevent future thefts, Wasemiller said.

“We have changed all our locks in the church, have got a better key control, put in a drop safe, and cameras are a possibility in the future, all as a result of the theft,” he said.

But mostly, the church wants to start healing, he said.

“I’m glad it’s over, and now it’s a time for forgiveness,” he said.