A man accused of taking money donated to the family of an injured boy will spend 12 to 18 months in work release after pleading guilty to theft by taking in Floyd County Superior Court on Friday.

Steven Lee Tanner was accused of taking several thousand dollars from the family of Cade Maynor, who was injured when a tree fell on him while he was swimming in Silver Creek in June 2011.

Tanner was with Cade when the tree fell and had led fund­raising efforts and provided updates about Cade’s condition to the media.

Tanner was given a 10 year sentence. After he serves the time at the Floyd County Work Release Center, Tanner must pay $7,200 in restitution to the family of Cade Maynor within two years; pay a $1,000 fine plus court costs and surcharges and pay a $32 probation fee, according to court documents.

If he doesn’t pay the restitution within the two-year time frame, his probation could be revoked.

He told the Rome News-Tribune on July 2 that about $4,800 had been raised at a car wash he organized that was conducted to help the family of Cade. 

Money from the car wash and other benefits were supposed to be in the relief account, but Tanner took the money instead of giving it to the family to pay for Cade’s medical expenses, police said.

Cade’s father, Tommy Maynor, said in a email message they were glad the situation was behind them.

“With him being held accountable, we hope in the future when someone is helping a family they think of this when faced with similar situations. Our family was traumatized enough with Cade’s injury,” Maynor said.

“We hated when Stevie took advantage of us while our son was fighting for his life. We hope the Floyd County community will not hold onto this when being faced with other opportunities to help individuals during a crisis.”

Cade spent several weeks recovering in hospitals in Chattanooga and Atlanta and today he is thriving, Maynor said.

“You may see him rolling down Broad Street or doing wheelies in Walmart,” Maynor said. “Wherever we go, he is happy. Cade plays wheelchair basketball with Blaze Sports at Shepherds Center in Atlanta. He is an A/B student in class with his friends. He is doing well in school. Cade will have trach surgery in March to reconstruct his airway and hopefully within a few months after have his trach removed. Otherwise he is healthy as always and we are blessed beyond measure.”