A Winnipeg woman found guilty of stealing money from her sick niece will not be going to prison.

Instead, a judge has ordered Sheryl Matheson to serve a 12-month conditional sentence in the community.

In 2009, thousands of dollars were raised to help Jessica Bondar. The teenager was waiting for a lifesaving heart transplant. However, before she died, virtually all the money had vanished.

Matheson was found guilty of stealing thousands of dollars from her sick niece.

Friday, Crown attorney Mandy Ambrose said the crime was an "egregious breach of trust, requiring a significant custodial sentence."

The Crown asked the judge to sentence Matheson to one year in jail.

But in his submission to the court, Matheson's lawyer Greg Bauman said deterrence can be addressed with a conditional sentence.

"If you sentence Ms. Matheson to a conditional sentence she will be under a microscope. She will not get away with not abiding by the conditional sentence order," he said.

Bauman argued a conditional sentence is not a lenient order. He also said there was no indication Matheson was a danger to her community.

Sixteen letters of reference were submitted for Matheson. In them, one person spoke glowingly of her, calling Matheson "hard working, caring, and decent."

Crying as she addressed the court, Matheson said "I want to start by apologizing to Jessica. I never had the chance to say goodbye. I have to live with that forever. I can't ever take it back, erase it. It is there for life. I'm sorry, I beg for forgiveness."

In the end, the judge said he accepted the apology Matheson gave, and said it shows that "she is remorseful." And that "she does now appear to have accepted responsibility."

In his decision, he said that while the "term of one year (in jail) requested could be reasonable....There is no evidence she is a danger to the community. Quite the opposite." He added "I am satisfied a 12 month sentence served in the community is appropriate."

The judge also said it was unfortunate Bondar was not able to be there for the resolution of the trial. However, he was convinced that if she was, "I believe she would forgive her aunt for her conduct."

As part of her sentence, Matheson must abide by a 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew, complete 150 hours of community service, and pay $8,981.44 in restitution to Winnipeg's Sick Kids Hospital and St. Boniface Hospital. Matheson will have two years to complete the payment.