A federal judge Thursday, Sept. 3, sentenced Jennifer Blake, a former Eugene School District 4J psychologist, to six years in prison for her role in running an online marketplace for illegal drugs.
U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. rejected a request for a lower sentence from a defense attorney who argued Blake’s need for open-heart surgery and a brain tumor diagnosis led to her involvement in the drug-selling operation.
“Ms. Blake lost her faith and gave into fear and doubt and felt crushed under the pressure of financial ruin and medical debt, which led to her involvement in the present case,” defense attorney Brian Rigg wrote in a sentencing memorandum…