On Tuesday morning, Monique Acevedo will stand before circuit Judge Mark Jones and learn whether she'll go to prison.

Her plea -- be it "guilty" or "no contest" -- follows a year of trial delays her public defender requested, and gives Acevedo the right to avoid a trial and go straight to the judge for adjudication.

"I fully expect her to plead and be sentenced right there," Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson said Friday.

The Public Defender's Office will not comment on the case until after Tuesday's hearing, said Trish Docherty, Acevedo's attorney.

Before Jones declares a sentence, Wilson will read a letter from the School Board in open court. The board, which the court recognizes as the legitimate victim in Acevedo's alleged theft of $418,000 in school district funds, will be the only victim that can describe how the alleged crimes harmed it, Wilson said.

The School Board's letter, Wilson said, will be the voice of the victim, which some say is all Florida Keys taxpayers.

"No one else can speak as a victim of this crime Tuesday except the School Board," he said. "In order to speak at sentencing, one has to have a connection to the case, and can't just demand to speak."

The board's letter will tell the court the alleged crimes were damaging to the school system.

"We believe many citizens in our community responded to this alleged crime very personally and in such a fashion that it negatively -- and dramatically -- impacted the trust and confidence of the fiscal integrity of our most valued public institution -- the education of our children," the letter states.

The former Adult Education administrator, charged with stealing $418,000 from the school system, could get as much as 10 years in state prison followed by 20 years on probation, which State Attorney Dennis Ward said he'll request. Ward wants Acevedo to repay the money in monthly payments of about $1,747 during the 20 years' probation.

The penalty for three felony counts of fraud and three counts of felony theft is 130 years under state law, but it's highly unlikely she'll see anything that severe.

Downward departure

The sentencing score sheet courts use to determine possible sentences puts Acevedo's minimum sentence at 71 months, or just less than six years. Judges, however, can give less time than the score sheet describes.

Known as downward departure, judges can decide if a defendant qualifies for a lesser sentence based on a set of circumstances, including whether a third party coerced or threatened the defendant into breaking the law and whether it was a one-time occurrence. The reasons for downward departure are not limited by the list created by the state, Wilson said.

"The list is only illustrative, not an exhaustive list," he said. "The list is of the most common basis for downward departure."

Jones also could give her probation and no prison sentence, but that is not likely to happen.

At the sentencing hearing, which starts at 8:45 a.m. in the Freeman Justice Center, the defense could present witnesses to testify as to Acevedo's mental health and other circumstances designed to persuade Jones to show some leniency. The defense does not have to tell the prosecution whether it will present witnesses or not, Wilson said.

Wilson can cross-examine the defense witnesses and call his own witnesses, who can in turn be cross-examined by Docherty.

Jones likely will ask Acevedo to explain her alleged actions, her motive, or state of mind at the time of the alleged theft and fraud. He'll also ask her if she is pleading guilty or no contest of her own free will.

Then it will be Acevedo's turn to face the judge. Before sentencing her, Jones could ask for time to go into his chambers and weigh the testimony of any defense or state witnesses. Once he emerges, he would then pronounce sentence.

If she's sentenced, she'll be handcuffed and driven to the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island, where she would stay for about a week until her jail packet -- which contains fingerprints, sentencing orders, charging documents and other paperwork -- was compiled. It's up to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office to arrange transportation to the women's prison intake facilities in another county.

New female inmates are sent either to Lowell Correctional Institute in Ocala or Broward Correctional Institute in Fort Lauderdale, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger. That's where female inmates spend six weeks to two months being "processed" into the system by attending seminars on what to expect, Plessinger said.

"Those are the state's two female reception facilities, where corrections officials talk to new inmates about what prison life is like, something like Prison 101," Plessinger said Friday. "They also assess an inmate's health, including physical and mental health; the inmate's educational level; and determine any types of programs they may need. All that helps determine which correctional institution they'll end up in."

jguerra@keysnews.com