By Diana McFarland

Managing editor

Former Isle of Wight County School Board member Kent Hildebrand will spend six months in jail and pay back $70,000 to an elderly woman he took money from over a period of years.

Hildebrand, 63, entered an Alford plea of 15 counts of grand larceny, one count of credit card theft and one count of identity theft on Dec. 7 in Isle of Wight County Circuit Court.

An Alford plea means that the defendant does not admit to being guilty but acknowledges that the court has enough evidence to convict him.     {mprestriction ids=”1,2,3,4,5,6″}

 In total, Hildebrand received a sentence of 20 years with 19 years and six months suspended. He was also ordered to pay restitution, and upon release, will be under supervised probation for five years.

Hildebrand was originally charged with defrauding Carol Jackson, 81, of $206,000 after she gave him access to her checking accounts to help pay her bills. Jackson lived in Red Oaks Mobile Home Park where Hildebrand worked as manager.

The thefts occurred between February 2008 and March 2015.

Hildebrand was offered a plea agreement because Jackson did not want to testify, said Isle of Wight County Commonwealth’s Attorney Georgette Phillips.

The victim’s daughter, Ruth Snow, thought it would be detrimental to her mother’s health to take the stand and the Commonwealth would not be able to try the case without her testimony, said Phillips.

The sentencing guidelines called for probation/no incarceration, and Hildebrand’s case is beyond that, she added.

Prior local cases of embezzlement have resulted in active jail or prison time ranging from six months to nearly five years for amounts ranging from about $41,500 to $300,000.

Hildebrand abruptly left his post as Isle of Wight County School Board chairman in March 2015. He began serving as Newport District representative in 2012.   {/mprestriction}