Avon Middle school art teacher pleads guilty to thefts
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Avon Middle School art teacher Anne Maiden pleaded guilty Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to charges from six counties that accused her of breaking into cars and racking up thousands of dollars in purchases on stolen credit cards.
This picture of Anne Maiden ran in The Chronicle in 2007 when she was featured in the "15 minutes" spotlight column. Maiden, of Elyria, was owner of Clay Dog Pottery in Elyria and an organizer of the Elyria Art Walk. (CT file photo.)
Maiden, 39, could receive up to 24 years in prison when she is sentenced later this month on charges of possession of criminal tools, 17 counts of theft and two counts each of forgery, misuse of credit cards and receiving stolen property.
Ryan Miday, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, said Monday’s plea resolves most of the pending charges against Maiden, who was arrested in November.
Maiden agreed to have charges from Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties consolidated on Monday before she entered the guilty plea, Miday said.
The Lorain County charges stemmed from two car break-ins, one Oct. 6 at Day’s Dam and a second in Columbia Township on Oct. 23, according to Lorain County Metro Parks rangers.
Credit cards taken during those break-ins were used to rack up thousands of dollars in purchases that included gift cards and a television.
Maiden followed the same pattern in the other counties, Miday said, stealing credit cards from parked cars and using them to buy things.
In an earlier news release, prosecutors in Cuyahoga County said Maiden’s charges on credit cards in the four thefts there totaled more than $4,600.
Miday said prosecutors are still figuring just how much Maiden is accused of stealing, and a final figure will be available at her sentencing, when prosecutors ask that she be ordered to repay the victims.
Maiden also remains under investigation for other thefts in northern Ohio that weren’t part of Monday’s plea, Miday said.
Since her arrest, a substitute teacher has been filling in for Maiden in her classes.
Avon Schools Superintendent Jim Reitenbach said Monday that he couldn’t discuss Maiden’s case until he confers with the district’s attorney.
Maiden’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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