Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Resigns After Pleading Guilty To Theft

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has resigned after pleading guilty to theft charges in criminal court. 

Barry appeared in court Tuesday morning and pleaded guilty to theft of property over $10,000 -- a Class C Felony. She will pay $11,000 in restitution and serve three years' probation. After that time, she will be able to apply to have it expunged from her record.   

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Robert Forrest also entered a plea deal of theft of property over $10,000 and was placed on three years' probation. As a term and condition of his probation, he will be required to pay $45,000 restitution. 

Barry held a press conference, where she thanked everyone for their support. 

"While my time today as your mayor concludes, my unwavering love and sincere affection for this wonderful city and its great people will never come to an end," she said. 

Read Barry's full statement following her resignation.

It follows several days of negotiations between Barry's legal team and District Attorney Glenn Funk. Those negotiations had apparently focused on whether Funk would agree not to prosecute Barry in exchange for her resignation. 

The resignation comes less than five weeks after Barry, in an interview with NewsChannel 5 Investigates, first admitted to a two-year affair with her police bodyguard, Sgt. Rob Forrest.

A day later, Funk announced he was requesting the TBI to investigate whether Barry or Forrest had misused taxpayer money during that affair.

Recently, a TBI special agent revealed in a search warrant affidavit that investigators had uncovered nude photos of a woman taken on Forrest's police-issued phone while he was traveling with the mayor and while he was on the clock. 

Then, NewsChannel 5 Investigates uncovered security video showing the two making frequent visits in the early morning hours to Nashville's historic City Cemetery. 

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