Lawrenceville, Ga. – With her once-jilted fiance at her side, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks pleaded no contest today to a felony charge and wept as she was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine.
“I’m truly sorry for my actions and I just want to thank Gwinnett County and the city of Duluth,” a crying Wilbanks told the judge as she pleaded to a charge of making a false statement.
She was sentenced to two years of probation and 120 hours of community service. The judge also ordered her to continue mental health treatment and pay the sheriff’s office $2,550.
If she successfully completes her probation, the felony will be erased from her record, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said.
Wilbanks, whose disappearance before her wedding in April created a nationwide sensation, was indicted last week on charges of making a false statement and making a false police report.
Wilbanks was wearing a black outfit and running shoes as she arrived at the Gwinnett County courthouse Thursday to make her plea. Her fiance John Mason, whom she was to have married April 30 in a lavish ceremony, was by her side.
Wilbanks could have faced up to six years in prison and $11,000 in fines if convicted of both charges. She could also have been ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search, which has been tallied at more than $50,000.
She’s already agreed to pay part of the tab: On Tuesday, she said she would pay $13,250 to the city of Duluth, Ga., to help offset the overtime costs the city incurred searching for her.
“She’s done everything that we would ask of her,” Wilbanks’ attorney Lydia Sartain, said Thursday morning before sentencing. “She has accepted responsibility.”
Wilbanks, a nurse, disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26 and took a bus to Las Vegas and then Albuquerque, N.M. She initially claimed she was abducted and sexually assaulted, but later recanted and said she fled because of unspecified personal issues days before the high-profile wedding.
Family members say she has been receiving psychiatric treatment at an unspecified facility.
