The ex-interim director of a police training program in Will, Grundy and Kankakee Counties pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that she embezzled $60,000 from the agency.
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Dawn Lehr, 35, was indicted last month by a Will County grand jury on 31 counts of forgery and one count of theft in connection with her handling of funds of the Tri-Rivers Police Training Unit.
Lehr, who is free on a $50,000 bond, entered her plea in the courtroom of Circuit Judge Rodney Lechwar, who set Jan. 31 as her next court date.
The indictment accused Lehr of forging 31 checks to drain money from four different Tri-Rivers accounts between November 1991 and January 1994 when she was an administrative assistant. Lehr is accused of writing checks to herself and funneling the money into her personal checking account.
If convicted, Lehr faces a possible prison term of up to 7 years for theft and up to 5 years for forgery.
Lehr worked for the agency for 10 years and was named its interim director in March 1993, when former Joliet Police Chief Fred Breen retired. She was replaced in December 1993 by former Kankakee Police Chief Tim Nugent.