Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian has released the following statement:
San Rafael, CA -- On August 21, 2017, Kathleen Mecca, the founder and past head of the Mount Tamalpais School in Mill Valley, California, pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with the Marin County District Attorney to felony embezzlement in violation of Penal Code section 487(a), and admitted a felony enhancement provision under Penal Code section 12022.6(a)(2).
The embezzlement amount in the agreed plea was a little over $1 million. The embezzled school funds had been diverted by Mecca into her personal accounts and/or used for her personal expenses.
As originally charged, Mecca faced a maximum exposure of five years in state prison. Under the plea agreement, Mecca will receive a four-year state prison sentence.
Based on the nature of the charges, California's recently-enacted sentence alternatives pursuant to Penal Code section 1170(h) apply. Thus, Mecca will serve one year of her physical custody prison term in the Marin County Jail with what is now referred to as the "split term" or "split sentence" balance of three years on mandatory supervision.
The sentencing is scheduled before Judge James Chou of the Marin County Superior Court on October 30.