PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The longtime Washington County Justice Court Administrator was arrested after a months-long investigation over money discrepancies.
Jan Sutherland was arrested Wednesday, Beaverton police said in a release. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted her on 30 charges: 17 counts of aggravated theft and 13 counts of official misconduct.
In her court appearance Thursday afternoon, Sutherland pleaded not guilty and will be assigned a public defender. There will be a case management conference on November 18 and her bail was set at $340,000.
Sutherland is being held in the Washington County Jail.
Read the full indictment at the bottom of this article
Authorities said the investigation began in February after discrepancies were found with the money at the Washington County Justice Court. As Beaverton detectives kept looking, they determined the discrepancies spanned more than 6 years.
In a statement, Washington County officials said Sutherland — who worked for the county for 29 years — was fired September 30. She had been the Justice Court Administrator for the past 16 years.
“The County takes this situation seriously and has been fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation and prosecution of this matter. Upon learning about the nature of the allegations, Ms. Sutherland was immediately placed on administrative leave and law enforcement was contacted,” Washington County officials said, in part.