BRYAN, Ohio — The former executive director of the P.A.T.H School for Autism and the P.A.T.H. Academy for Autism, Ltd. has been sentenced to 90 days in jail after stealing from the school.
A joint investigation by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, the Bryan Police Department and the Ohio Department of Education found 53-year-old Chicago woman Bonnie Kimpling stole more than $150,000 from the school.
Kimpling was sentenced on one count of aggravated theft, a third-degree felony, in Williams County Common Pleas Court. In addition to jail time, she was sentenced to five years of community control, fined $2,500 and ordered to pay approximately $32,269 in restitution.
If Kimpling fails to meet the terms of her probation she will have a two-year prison term.
"This school's mission was to work alongside parents to educate children facing difficult obstacles, not to get rich off of them," Yost said. "This thief not only let down kids, she left a hole in this community."
The P.A.T.H. School for Autism was shuttered after Kimpling was terminated and indicted in 2020 for the theft.
The P.A.T.H. schools were among the nonprofits operating in Ohio whose operations are overseen by the Attorney General's Office. Yost's Charitable Law Section and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation assisted in the investigation. Williams County Prosecutor Katherine Zartman prosecuted Kimpling.
