SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah judge Tuesday sentenced former Davis School District employee Kimberly Bell to one year in prison for embezzling at least $170,000 from the district between 2005 and 2011. "I deeply regret that my lack of judgment and good judgment resulted in the misuse of school funds," Bell told 3rd District Judge Christine Johnson. "I don't know how or why I did what I did, other than to get money for myself." Bell, who apologized to the court, said the district did not help her when she asked for help in finding a job. "I can guarantee you that I did nothing to obtain that money," Bell said. "And there's no excuses, especially when it comes to children, and especially when it comes to a school district." Bell spoke briefly on her own behalf, saying she planned to be with her family and be a good mother. The sentence is the first criminal conviction resulting from an audit completed by the Utah State Auditor's Office. Bell, 29, had pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and a court-ordered restitution of $170,000, less than half the amount for which she was indicted. Bell was arrested in December 2011 by the Davis County Attorney's Office on 10 charges of fraud, theft and forgery. The charges were filed after Bell was caught embezzling nearly $50,000 from Davis School District. After the charges were filed, she was fired. The district hired a private investigator to look into the missing money, which had gone through checks and into her personal bank account, then found its way into her two children's savings account. Bell said she had never stolen money from the district before, but became depressed about her life after the birth of her first child and believed she needed money. At the sentencing hearing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Wray urged Johnson to impose a sentence of at least two years in prison for Bell's actions, which he said he felt was on the low end of the range. Wray also asked the court to order Bell to pay back the nearly $50,000 that was missing from the district when she was caught. Bell and her attorney James R. Marsh said the money was taken in a "spur of the moment" type of thefts, and said she had no prior criminal history. Marsh told Johnson that Bell was embarrassed and ashamed by the embarrassment she caused the district and by the public attention her case has received. "She did something very bad, and she's very sorry about it," Marsh said. "She's really remorseful for it and I think she's very hopeful that people will forgive her." In February, U.S. District Judge David Sam at the time sentenced Bell to four months in prison and three years of supervised probation. Kristen East and Eric Samuels of the Herald Journal contributed to this report. Email: preavy@deseretnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam