Staff Report
Published Aug. 22, 2012

Melanie Sparks, 40, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to stealing more than $60,000 from a child support fund operated by Cherokee County, U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles said.

The fund receives more than $10,000 a year from the federal government.

Sparks is a former deputy clerk for Cherokee County. Prosecutors charged that she took money from the child support fund of county’s Clerk of Court office between January 2008 and November 2009.

The maximum penalty Sparks can receive is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for 10 years.