AUSTINTOWN — Austintown Local Schools childcare coordinator Jeanne Ellen Sebastiani is on paid administrative leave after she was arrested Friday for theft.

Sebastiani, 50, 4693 Shields Road, Canfield, pleaded not guilty to a charge of petty theft Monday during an arraignment in front of Judge Scott Hunter in Austintown County Court 4.

Sebastiani was arrested on a charge of theft after an employee at JCPenney in Austintown told police he discovered stolen women’s clothing in her purse around 11:30 a.m. Friday, according to a police report. Sebastiani reportedly took the clothes into a dressing room where she supposedly put the items in her purse and left without paying.

She was booked into the Mahoning County Justice Center on Friday and was released Saturday, according to jail records.

Sebastiani has been a child care coordinator overseeing the pre-kindergarten program at Austintown Local Schools since July. A spokesperson for the district said she was placed on paid administrative leave effective Monday. The paid leave will continue until further notice, pending the results of an investigation.

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