Ogden woman charged with stealing from preschool program for kids with autism


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OGDEN — The "parent president" of the Northern Utah Autism Program is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization, according to an ongoing criminal case in 2nd District Court.

Rebecca Irene Campos, 31, of Ogden, is charged with theft, a second-degree felony, for allegedly stealing monetary donations between September 2015 and August 2016.

Charges filed Oct. 12 say Campos admitted that she stole $5,000 from the program and "quit counting the funds she was using after that."

"At the time of the theft of funds, (Campos) was the president of the organization and in charge of all moneys," the charges state. "The money in the fund is obtained from private donations only."

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.

The program posted a statement posted to Facebook on Friday addressing the charges against Campos.

"Currently the former parent president is facing charges. As the school year began, we became aware of the situation and have taken many steps to ensure that this is something the program doesn't have to endure in the future," according to the statement.

The organization also asked those with questions or concerns to show support for its teachers as they "focus on needs of our children and families currently in the program."

Campos allegedly told another program official in August that funds were getting low. That woman asked Campos for the organization's bank statements, and she turned them over, court documents say. That's when the woman "realized (Campos) had been using funds for her personal use," charges state.

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

Two other employees witnessed Campos purchasing "merchandise" for personal use while on a shopping trip on behalf of the Northern Utah Autism Program, charges state.

Campos was issued a summons in the case and was never arrested, court records indicate. Her next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

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

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Ben Lockhart

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