According to court documents, there were multiple incidences in which Redoubt Elementary Nurse Donna Cotman forged parents’ signatures to reflect that students were exempt from immunizations due to religious reasons.
The investigation began after Sergeant Duane Kant of the Soldotna Police Department was approached by a student’s parent who believed someone had forged his wife’s signature on an immunization exemption form. After some examination, Kant served a search warrant for other records Cotman had been in charge of and determined a total of four forms had forged signatures.
Cotman’s Defense Attorney Peter Ehrhardt spoke with us about how the hearing went yesterday.
Ehrhardt: “Donna plead guilty to one misdemeanor and they dismissed four felony forgery counts. She plead to tampering with a public record and received a suspended imposition of sentence which means if she completes her probation she won’t have a criminal record.”
Cotman also received a $1500 fine and 80 hours of community service but no jail time.