Texas woman receives 'break' in fake 'B' attack
The backward "B" is gone from the cheek of a former John McCain campaign volunteer ordered Friday to serve nine months of probation and complete 50 hours of community service for concocting a story about a Barack Obama supporter who marred her face.
Ashley Todd, 21, of College Station, Texas, declined comment and walked briskly away from reporters after her hearing at the Allegheny County Courthouse. She attempted to dodge the news media by leaving from a side exit after her probation meeting.
"I didn't have any (comment) before, and don't have any now," she said.
A male friend escorted her out of the courthouse, shoving a television cameraman who chased after them to get Todd's picture.
Police said Todd admitted to fabricating the story, which attracted national attention in the days leading up to the presidential election. A photo showing the cut on her cheek and a black eye was posted on news sites and blogs online.
Common Pleas Judge Robert C. Gallo ordered Todd to pay $822 in court costs as part of her sentence. Todd was placed in the county's Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time offenders. If she completes the terms of her sentence, her record will be expunged.
The hearing lasted only about a minute, because Gallo cycled through 130 ARD cases, most of them drunken-driving offenses.
Speaking generally to all of the defendants in the courtroom about ARD, including Todd, Gallo emphasized they must complete community service in order to close their cases.
"This is a privilege to be in this program," Gallo said. "In normal language, you're getting a break today."
Todd must complete her community service at Human Services of Western Pennsylvania within six months.
She was charged with filing a false police report, which carries a maximum two-year jail sentence and $5,000 fine.
Todd, who is white, initially told police a 6-foot-4-inch, knife-wielding black man robbed her Oct. 22 at a Liberty Avenue ATM in Bloomfield before beating, fondling and cutting her because he was enraged by her McCain bumper sticker.
In a second version, Todd said she was attacked on nearby Pearl Street after walking away from her car, police said. She told police she wasn't sure whether her bumper sticker or a campaign button on her jacket angered her attacker.
After more questioning, she told detectives she was driving around and "came up with a plan" to manufacture a story about being attacked after noticing a mark on her cheek that looked like a "B," police said.
