No charges filed against woman who stole documents

No charges filed against woman who stole documents

SPRINGFIELD -- A former employee of the secretary of state's office who is suspected of taking documents containing Social Security numbers and other personal information and stashing them in a storage locker won't be charged with a crime.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt said Tuesday he can't make a criminal case against 56-year-old Sheryl Lovell because she did not have exclusive access to the locker. He also said there apparently was no criminal intent involved.

Schmidt said investigators concluded Lovell, who was a clerical worker in the secretary of state's office for 12 years, was simply overwhelmed by her workload.

The documents were discovered last year when an auctioneer bought the locker contents after rent wasn't paid. Lovell was put on unpaid leave in December. She was fired in May.

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