Former head of Yosemite child care center enters guilty plea

A Sonora woman who ran the child care center in Yosemite National Park has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $42,000, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced Monday.

Charity Brocchini, 41, was director of the park’s child care center and the Yosemite Child Care Center between 2005 and 2009, according to court documents.

The nonprofit organization cares for the children of employees of the park and of organizations affiliated with the park, according to the center’s website.

Brocchini embezzled the funds through various methods, including paying herself extra paychecks and using the center’s funds to write checks to herself, pay her personal car and insurance payments, make personal purchases and pay credit card debts, according to a news release.

She faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when she is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on March 14.

The case is the result of an investigation by the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

This story was originally published November 30, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Former head of Yosemite child care center enters guilty plea."