Monique Acevedo on Tuesday pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years in state prison, followed by 22 years on probation, during which time she must make monthly payments to repay the $413,000 she was accused of stealing -- a punishment she cannot appeal, prosecutors said.

Because Florida inmates must serve at least 80 percent of their sentence, she will not be eligible for parole until 2016. She will be 72 years old when she's free and clear.

After circuit Judge Mark Jones handed down the sentence, Acevedo was quickly handcuffed, fingerprinted and led through the back door of the courtroom to a waiting Monroe County Sheriff's Office van that took her to the Monroe County Detention Center on Stock Island.

The only grounds for an appeal would have been if the sentence exceeded the maximum the law allows, which in her case is 130 years, Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson said.

"For example, a sentence would be unlawful if the court imposed a 20-year sentence if the statutory maximum were 15 years," Wilson explained.

Acevedo had requested a "downward departure" -- a lighter sentence because of extenuating circumstances -- based on her years as a pain pill addict and undiagnosed bipolar disorder sufferer. Drug abuse, however, is not a reason to reduce sentences, Wilson said.

"Judges can elect to give lesser sentences if they find that the defendant was suffering from a mental disorder unrelated to substance abuse or addiction" that impairs their ability to appreciate the criminal nature of their conduct, Wilson explained.

The judge disagreed that either condition was the cause of her crimes.

"You drained a lot of money from the school system while teachers have to go out and buy classroom supplies and sponsors are sought to adopt classrooms," Jones said. "You spent the money on indulgent things, luxury items. When I look at the evidence, I see extremely egregious criminal [acts]."

Addiction, disorder

The combination of a mental disorder and drug addiction created a mindset in the former Adult Education coordinator that led her to use her school district credit card for personal purchases and steal more than $100,000 in cash from her department, Assistant Public Defender Trish Docherty argued.

Docherty asked the judge to be lenient with Acevedo because of those factors.

Acevedo became addicted to pain pills in 2006 when she was being treated for a bacteria that was eating at her stomach, Docherty said. By 2008, she was taking between 15 and 20 OxyContin a day and "led a double life ... that she hid from everyone, including her husband," Docherty said.

Addiction had taken over her life, but the mental illness was not revealed until two months after the discovery of the theft in March 2009, Docherty said.

Docherty read a letter from Key West psychiatrist Dr. Joseph O'Lear, who said he diagnosed Acevedo "in May 2009 with bipolar 1 disorder and opiate dependency." Acevedo had to be "hospitalized because she could harm herself or others," O'Lear wrote.

Her mental illness and addiction to OxyContin led to "hypo-manic phases" marked by "elevated and expansive moods" and "grandiosity," he wrote. It was during those times that Acevedo went on "unrestrained buying sprees without knowing who she'd give the items to or how they'd be used. She stored many of the items because of that. During her grandiosity, "the actions felt appropriate," O'Lear wrote.

Key West psychologist Stephen A. Ragusea, who took the stand to describe Acevedo's addiction and mental illness, said her bipolar disorder had been in effect before 2006, which explained her manic buying sprees dating back to 2003.

She also had been addicted to oxycodone, Ragusea said, and had bought OxyContin and other pain pills "in the street for two years."

Road to recovery

Acevedo has recovered from the pain pill addiction and is on the proper antidepressants and other medication to control her mania, Ragusea testified. She is well enough to be a productive member of society and earn money to repay the district without going to jail, he said.

Docherty asked the judge not send Acevedo to jail, but to let her work off what she owes while remaining free.

In addition to the medical testimony, Acevedo's brother, Thomas Jenkins Jr., and father, Thomas Jenkins Sr., described her as a kind, caring child who sang in the church choir, ministered to the poor in Northeast inner cities, and cared for sick relatives and friends, including those who belonged to the First Baptist Church Creedmoor in North Carolina, where Acevedo's father recently retired as the head minister.

Her brother asked the judge not to decide his sister's sentence based on "politics ... or mob rule."

While not discounting the seriousness of Acevedo's addiction or mental illness, the judge said neither Acevedo nor the witnesses had convinced him to consider a downward departure.

The judge exceeded the nearly six-year prison term the sentencing scorecard called for, but gave her less than the 10 years prosecutors had requested. Jones gave her eight years in prison and 22 years on probation on counts 1, 2, 5 and 6 and five years in prison and 22 years on probation on counts 3 and 4, to run concurrently.

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

Acevedo's mental health issues, medication and health history also will be reviewed while there to construct an action plan for any psychological help she might need. From whichever processing institution she is evaluated, Acevedo will have a choice of three other prisons where women are housed.

Both Lowell and Broward correctional institutions have adult education and cosmetology courses and educational and physical educational activities for women inmates, their websites show.

Her husband, Randy Acevedo, lost his job as schools superintendent in June 2009 and was found guilty in August 2009 of three counts of official misconduct, each a first-degree felony. A jury believed he tried to cover up her crimes. He is awaiting a 3rd District Court of Appeal decision on his request for a new trial.

jguerra@keysnews.com