MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A judge in Shelby County has given a former Germantown deputy court clerk a suspended 10-year sentence.

According to The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/OY8rKe ), 45-year-old Janet Donnell must also repay the $3,500 she has admitted stealing and more than $15,000 to pay for an audit that proved the theft.

Donnell resigned from her $40,000 per year job a year ago after she went to police and confessed to taking court cash to cover medical bills and ward off foreclosure on her home.

Donnell could have been sent to prison for two years. Instead, she can now have her record cleared after 10 years if she repays the money.

Defense attorney James Curry said his client has already repaid more than $3,000 and said she will make good on the rest.

Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com

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