Jail ordered for Ogden mom who stole funds from autism program

Jail ordered for Ogden mom who stole funds from autism program

(Weber County Sheriff's Office)


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OGDEN — A past president of the Northern Utah Autism Program has been ordered to spend 180 days in jail for stealing funds from the group that her own children had benefitted from.

The jail sentence for Rebecca Irene Campos, 32, was handed down Thursday. Campos was granted work release in order to allow her to pay restitution in the case, confirmed her attorney, Branson West.

Campos accepted a plea deal in January, admitting to a reduced charge of theft, a third-degree felony. She was originally charged with a second-degree felony.

Second District Judge Michael DiReda also ordered Campos on Thursday to pay $10,739 restitution to the Northern Utah Autism Program, and to complete 60 hours of community service.

Campos told police she initially took $5,000 from the program, then "quit counting the funds she was using after that," according to charging documents.

"(Campos) admitted to using the funds for her personal use due to financial difficulties," court documents state.

The Northern Utah Autism Program is an Ogden-based preschool program for children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder that "focuses on attending behaviors, language and cognition, self-help and social skills, and parent contact," according to its Facebook page.

Prior to the sentencing, parents whose children have attended classes through the Northern Utah Autism Program wrote the judge to point out the extensive fundraising efforts that fund the program and life-changing experiences their children have had there.

They also expressed their outrage that Campos embezzled those hard-sought funds even as her own children benefitted from the program.

In one letter, a father said he was "shocked, angered and saddened" to learn Campos had stolen from the program that had done so much for his own son. He also pointed to a public letter by Campos, written to then-Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain, in February 2015 asking for funding to mitigate the program's long waiting list.

Campos wrote in her letter that she has three young children with autism diagnoses — one who had completed the program, one who was about to graduate the program, and one who was to begin the program that fall.

"NUAP has given our family hope for the future," Campos wrote. "There are currently over 80 children on the waiting list to get into one of the three classes NUAP has. Every week they receive new referrals. Many of those on the wait list turn 5 before they are able to attend due to funding. NUAP needs more funding so they can add more classes and get more aides. NUAP is amazing and has been a blessing to so many families. And there are so many more that need the help they have to offer."

Campos took money from donations made to the organization between September 2015 and August 2016, according to the charges. At the time, Campos served as the group's "parent president."

The father who wrote to the judge explained that, through the preschool program, his son has become "a successful first-grader and is on an upward trajectory."

"The teachers and coordinators helped (him) to learn to live in this world. They helped him find his voice to speak. Slowly (he) regained connection to his surroundings and family. We now have a son who tells us he loves us," the father wrote.

The man also explained the great length that he and other parents have gone to in order to raise money for the program.

"NUAP is dependant on the small community of parents to function. We spent countless hours volunteering in the classroom to aid the teachers. We participate in fundraising efforts to be able to provide the educational experiences and therapy tools in the classroom," the father said.

He went on to call for a strong sentence for Campos in order to restore trust in the program and allow for healing.

"It absolutely sickens us that Becky would make the decision to rob children like hers of the opportunities for improvement. Her selfish actions cannot go unpunished. The trust she has broken can have long-term effects. Donors are rethinking helping NUAP. Parents' trust in each other is fractured. The focus should be on providing a better tomorrow for our autistic children, but is now firmly on Becky's crime," the man wrote.

As part of the plea deal, Campos will be eligible to have her conviction reduced to a misdemeanor after serving her sentence, paying restitution and completing 36 months of probation, court records say.

A search of court records shows Campos has no significant prior criminal history in Utah.

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McKenzie Romero

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