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Former Special Olympics treasurer apologizes for $24K theft
Recently, Rabun County Special Olympics Melody Queen pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to five years probation.
CLAYTON, Ga. - The crime rocked the small community of Rabun County.
Everyone had the same question: how could anyone steal from the Special Olympics?
But now some are asking a different question: will their local program ever recover?
"It's just a sad, sad situation that the organization had to shut down," said former board member Kalin Cutty.
Queen's apology for stealing $24,000 from Rabun County Special Olympics.
In 2020, board treasurer Melody Queen was charged with theft and forgery. Authorities accused her of stealing roughly $24,000 in donations that were supposed to go to help special needs athletes in Rabun County travel to Special Olympics events.
Recently, Queen pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to five years probation. Because this was her first run-in with the law, the court gave her First Offender status, meaning her record could be wiped clean in the future.
Melody Queen admits stealing approximately $24,000 from the Rabun County Special Olympics. (photo by Kalin Cutty)
The Georgia Special Olympics allowed Queen to pay back the money as soon as they discovered the theft, telling authorities they didn’t want to press charges to avoid negative publicity.
But Rabun County District Attorney George Christian said no.
"This was just one of those cases where you just couldn't walk away from it and 'Oh, well, she paid her restitution back, that's enough,'" Christian told the FOX 5 I-Team. "She needed to be held criminally responsible. She needed to be in court to say 'I'm guilty. I'm sorry.'"
Queen wrote a letter of apology to Cutty, the woman whose signature she forged to withdraw the money. When the theft was discovered, the Rabun County Special Olympics bank account had a balance of under $1.
Former FOX 5 Sports anchor interviewed Kim Roberts at a state Special Olympics event. (photo by Kalin Cutty)
Even though the money Queen stole was returned to that account, Cutty says the Georgia Special Olympics now limits participation in Rabun County to athletes 21 years or younger.
That eliminates her 45-year-old sister Kim Roberts and at least a dozen others.
"It's heartbreaking to see my special athletes working at Ingles and that's all they've got in their life now," said Cutty.
A spokesman for the Georgia Special Olympics wouldn’t answer questions about any new age limits for participants in Rabun County.
"There are currently 16 active athletes registered in the program," explained Thomas Ritch, chief development officer for the state organization. "Spring Games (were) held in the area in 2022 with plans to host them again in 2023."
Even if she could compete, Roberts doesn’t sound interested anymore. She thought Queen was a friend.
"I don't never want to be in Special Olympics," she said emphatically.
Kim’s mother baked hundreds of cream cheese pound cakes to raise money for the organization, funds that sit in an account older athletes like Roberts can no longer use.
"It's been hard to make them since then," said Pat Roberts.