PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — One year behind bars for every year that she was stealing.
That how a South Dakota circuit judge on Tuesday arrived at the sentence of 13 years in state prison for Lonna Carroll.
A Hughes County jury had found Carroll guilty in April of aggravated grand theft and grand theft for taking nearly $1.78 million from the South Dakota Department of Social Services over a 13-year period while Carroll was employed there.
Circuit Judge Christina Klinger on Tuesday sentenced Carroll to 10 years in prison, with five years suspended, for aggravated grand theft, and three years in prison, with one year suspended, for grand theft. The sentences will run consecutively.
The judge also told Carroll that she is responsible for repaying $1,777,665.73 to DSS and for the costs of her court-appointed attorney, various other costs incurred in her defense, $5,000 for a psychiatric evaluation and assorted court costs.
Her defense attorney, Timothy Whalen of Lake Andes, acknowledged that the amount she owes is “huge” and probably can’t be repaid in her lifetime. He said Carroll has already paid approximately $35,000 in restitution and that members of her family raised the $50,000 bond needed for her release from jail, but Carroll didn’t want to get out.
“She’s ready to accept what the court does,” Whalen said.
Whalen asked that Carroll receive sentences of less than five years and that they run concurrently, meaning at the same time. He said Carroll is a severe diabetic who will turn 69 years old in 10 days.
Carroll was allowed to wear street clothes during her three-day trial. But on Tuesday, she was in the jailhouse clothing of a solid-orange top and orange and white-striped pants. She dabbed at her eyes while remaining in handcuffs.
Four of Carroll’s supporters sat behind her in the courtroom’s first row of seating. On the other side in the back sat Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff, who had written a letter to the court about Carroll.
Carroll read from a handwritten statement. “I apologize to the court and everyone I hurt,” she began.
Carroll said she felt low after the deaths of her father and an older sister. “I was very depressed and I could not get control of myself,” she said. “I thought I would feel better about myself and stole money.” But, she continued, she discovered that she still hated herself.
Carroll has been in jail — first in Algona, Iowa, where she had gone to live after retiring from the department, and then in Pierre after she was brought back for trial — since July 17, 2024. “I am sorry I lied to everyone for so long,” she said.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley presented the prosecution’s argument, telling the judge that Carroll should be sentenced to 15 years and 10 years and that they run consecutively, meaning one after the other.
Jackley said evidence was “overwhelming” that Carroll had stolen money on 215 occasions over 13 years and “violated the taxpayers’ trust” in doing so. “That 1.7 million dollars did not go to the children who needed it most,” he said.
Jackley quoted Carroll’s own words from the pre-sentence investigation report. Asked about the conduct of the trial, Carroll said, “The only thing I worried about was state employees on the jury.” She went on to say that she feared they would be fired from their state-government jobs if they didn’t return a guilty verdict.
Jackley also noted Carroll claimed that some of the state government witnesses who testified against her had lied in court.
Judge Klinger explained how she reached a decision on Carroll’s sentences. Regarding Carroll’s argument that she was mentally suffering, the judge said that one of Carroll’s children had offered to help her get treatment but Carroll refused.
“These were your choices,” Judge Klinger told Carroll. “In the end, you took the money.” The judge added, “Thirteen years, you continued this behavior.”
Carroll’s claim that witnesses lied surprised Judge Klinger, who told Carroll that her long pattern of thievery was more than a bump in the road. The judge said she also was struck by Carroll’s statement that what Carroll most feared was being held accountable.
Carroll worked in the department’s child protection services. She had permission to enter claims, authorize the claims, and take the checks to the bank. There, she deposited the checks, then immediately withdrew the amount in cash, and took it to spend.
“You were in a position of trust. You violated that,” Judge Klinger said.
In the end, Judge Klinger stated, “Miss Carroll, I sentence you to 13 years in the state penitentiary, one year for every year you continued this.”
Carroll’s July 1 sentencing came on the same day that the new state public defender’s office can start taking appeals to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Whalen said he would transfer Carroll’s case to the public defender for an appeal.
The judge told the audience to remain seated until after Carroll had been taken from the courtroom. As Carroll left, she turned to her handful of supporters, silently mouthed some words, and wiped her eyes.
