Former Payne County deputy treasurer sentenced to five-year prison term

Tuesday, July 26th 2005, 5:59 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- A former Payne County deputy treasurer has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to repay thousands of dollars she was accused of embezzling.

District Judge Donald Worthington also gave Sharon Lynn Harrison 15 years of probation during a sentencing hearing last week.

Harrison was charged with embezzlement by an officer last year and pleaded guilty in May to taking nearly $104,496.

Testimony at the sentencing hearing indicated the 44-year-old Stillwater resident had continued embezzling money from the Payne County treasurer's office even after the auditors were on-site.

District Attorney Rob Hudson says the intricacy of the theft, the amount of money taken and the fact that it was public money were just a few of the reasons a long prison sentence was sought.