Former UI employee sentenced to 14 days in jail
Oct. 21—A Latah County Second District Court judge on Wednesday sentenced a former University of Idaho employee to 14 days in jail for one count of felony misuse of public funds.
Tim Helmke, the former UI associate director of Alumni Relations, was also sentenced to three years of supervised probation, 100 hours of community service and must pay $2,455 in restitution to the UI.
"I deeply regret my actions and how they have affected many people and organizations that I have been involved with over the past 30 years in Moscow," Helmke told Judge John Judge on Wednesday. "My actions do not accurately reflect who I am as a person or the character in which I live my life."
Helmke made more than $2,700 in unauthorized purchases on his UI purchase card between 2019 and 2020, including two purchases for which he submitted false receipts, according to court documents. Latah County Deputy Prosecutor Keith Scholl said the purchases included alcoholic beverages, gift baskets and tickets.
Scholl asked Judge for a sentence of 30 days in jail. The maximum possible sentence for this felony is 14 years in prison.
Judge said that in making his decision he tried to balance the crime with Helmke's previously stellar reputation in the community.
Helmke does not have a criminal history and Judge called him an "extraordinarily good, generous, compassionate, helpful human being."
Judge also said he received 46 letters from the public in support of Helmke. Judge said he has never seen "such an outpouring of love and support for somebody facing sentencing."
However, Judge said Helmke still needs to be held accountable for his crime.
"It does show that aside from the love and support for Mr. Helmke, there's also some real, real pain that the university and the people who have trusted Mr. Helmke for years are suffering from," Judge said.
Helmke's UI employment ended last year and he also resigned as president of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
