LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — With her once-jilted fiance at her side, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks pleaded no contest to a felony count of making a false statement on Thursday.
“I’m truly sorry for my actions and I just want to thank Gwinnett County and the city of Duluth,” a crying Wilbanks said in court.
Judge Ronnie Batchelor sentenced her to two years of probation, 120 hours of community service, continue to seek mental health treatment and pay the sheriff’s office $2,550.
The felony charge carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison as though the charge was a misdemeanor as part of the plea deal. If she successfully completes probation, the felony will be erased from her record, said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter.
“She’s done everything that we would ask of her,” Wilbanks’ attorney Lydia Sartain said before sentencing. “She has accepted responsibility.”
Her fiance John Mason, whom she was to have married April 30 in a lavish ceremony, was with her as she arrived at the Gwinnett County courthouse. Wilbanks of wearing black outfit and running shoes.
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.
She could have faced up to six years in prison if convicted of both charges, as well as $11,000 in fines. She could also have been ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search, which has been tallied at more than $50,000.
On Tuesday, Wilbanks agreed to pay $13,250 to the city of Duluth, Ga., to help pay for the overtime costs the city incurred searching for her.
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 have said she was receiving psychiatric treatment at an unspecified facility.
After the hearing, Wilbanks was escorted out of the back courtroom. Mason and Wilbanks’ family had no comment as they left the courthouse.