The Reisterstown woman accused of impersonating an attorney to sneak into a Baltimore prison told a judge Thursday her reason why — she did it for love.
“My sole purpose was just to spend time with Jason,” said Weaver, 29, who denies she engaged in sexual intercourse while visiting inmate Jason Moody at the Maryland Reception, Diagnostic and Classification Center. “… I love Jason.”
Weaver pleaded guilty to identity theft and displaying the government ID of another. Baltimore City Circuit Judge Althea Handy struck those guilty pleas Thursday and sentenced her to probation before judgment. She is on supervised probation for three years and must complete 300 hours of community service.
Weaver showed prison officers a fake Maryland State Bar Association Security Identification pass with her photo attached to the name of Amanda Sprehn of the Annapolis law firm Hyatt, Peters & Weber on Nov. 13, court records indicate. She also presented a business card with Sprehn?s name, according to charging documents.
Weaver visited Moody and, once alone with him in a room for attorney-client visits, was observed by prison officials engaging in sex with Moody, investigators said.
Prosecutor Tara Barnes said Sprehn, who was on maternity leave at the time, was subjected to humiliation after rumors circulated in the legal community that she was fornicating with inmates.
“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America,” said Barnes, who asked the judge to sentence Weaver to six months in jail. “This is a serious case and Ms. Weaver should be held accountable for her actions. Amanda Sprehn was embarrassed. It affected her standing in the legal community.”
Weaver?s attorney, Ivan Bates, said his client is the real victim in the crime, because of the national and international media attention the case drew.
“This is a scarlet letter type of scenario,” Bates said. “She really hurt herself. She really hurt her name.”
Weaver, too, painted herself as a victim.
“I feel I paid dearly for what I did,” she said. “I really feel I suffered for this.”
But the judge disagreed with the line of argument.
“You are not the victim in this case,” Handy said. “You have suffered embarrassment and humiliation. It is a result of your actions.”
