A woman who admitted stealing $174,291 from the Arizona Memorial Museum received a lighter-than-normal prison sentence yesterday after the prosecutor, defense attorney and judge noted the defendant's long history of serious mental and physical illnesses.

Fe Nakahara, 44, began hearing voices when she was 9 years old and now has been diagnosed with "schizo-affective depressive disorder," a mental illness with symptoms including both auditory and visual hallucinations, according to court records.

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor sentenced Nakahara to 18 months in prison, some 15 months short of the maximum punishment available. Nakahara was also ordered to repay all the money she stole, as well as $76,820 in back taxes.

Gillmor noted that Nakahara has no previous criminal history and, in addition to her mental illness, suffers from severe physical problems including borderline diabetes, kidney stones and hyperthyroidism.

Defense attorney Shanlyn Park also told the judge that Nakahara was subjected to "physical, sexual and emotional abuse" during her childhood and that the abuse "unfortunately continued into her adult life."

Nakahara, a Waipahu grandmother, has already been in custody for a year and with "good time" credits she has earned, could be eligible for release in another three months, Park said.

The lawyer suggested using that time to plan a comprehensive treatment program by the state's Adult Mental Health Division that would be ready for her when Nakahara is released.

"Prison isn't really the setting to deal with mental illness," Park said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Connors said the government "does not dispute at all that this defendant has had a mental disorder since the age of 9."

But Connors also noted that Nakahara is "a smart woman, an educated woman" who stole large sums of money from a charity.

The theft, which occurred from May to October 2005, "had a significant impact on the Arizona Memorial Museum," Connors said.

She asked the judge to sentence Nakahara to a prison term of 27 to 33 months.

Gillmor said she would have "no compunction" sentencing Nakahara to as much as 33 months behind bars, given the severity of the crime.

But the judge said Nakahara's health problems have been "a burden more than most people can imagine." She instructed the defendant to participate in the treatment program when she is released that must include both prescription medications as well as individual therapy.

Nakahara told the judge, "I apologize to you, your honor, to the Arizona Memorial, to my family and friends. I made a bad choice that caused a lot of suffering."

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.