Democrat mayor pleads guilty to stealing over $10K from taxpayers to fund her affair, but she’s not heading to jail

Henry Rodgers, DCNF

NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 06: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry speaks during the CMA Foundation's Announcement of a One Million dollar donation to the Metro Nashville public schools 'Music makes us' progam at Oliver Middle School on December 6, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images) — (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony theft for spending more than $10,000 worth of government money, but will serve no time in jail.

Barry had reportedly been working on negotiations with Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk to face no prosecution if she were to resign from office. Instead of jail, Barry will serve three years of probation and agreed to repay the city $11,000 in reimbursement fees, although it was reported she spent nearly $33,000 of the government’s money.

The news comes as Tennessee Bureau of Investigation received information that Barry could have broken the law, prompting her to announce her resignation at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Barry, who admitted she had an expensive affair with her head of security detail using taxpayer dollars, was reportedly in possession of nude photos of a woman taken on the phone of former Metro Police Sgt. Rob Forrest, with whom she had an affair. The photos were allegedly taken when the mayor and Forrest were on a trip together. Barry also allegedly deleted text messages between her and Forrest.

The Democratic mayor, who is married, apologized for having the affair with Forrest and using thousands of dollars on their travel expenses over the last 10 months. Barry claims that her trips as mayor of Nashville were for business, including trips to Paris and Athens. However, Barry does not think she improperly misused taxpayer money, NPR reported.

Democratic Vice Mayor David Briley will become acting mayor if Barry resigns, as expected.

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