SYCAMORE – A woman police say stole items from a Toys for Tots collection box at the Sycamore Public Library was arrested after she returned to the library Monday to use a computer.

Shannon N. Rudsinski, 26, of Sycamore, was arrested Monday and charged with theft, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in a county jail.

Sycamore Police were called last week for a report of a woman stealing items from a Toys for Tots drop-off box in the lobby of the Sycamore Public Library. The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program collects new and unwrapped toys to be given to children in need during the holidays.

About 9:30 a.m. Nov. 30, a woman made three separate trips into the library to remove items from the Toys for Tots box. By the time library employees realized what the woman was doing, she had left, Sycamore Police Sgt. Rod Swartzendruber said.

Rudsinski was arrested Monday after she came to the library to use a computer and was recognized, Swartzendruber said.

Though it at first appeared she may have taken at least four items, Rudsinski claimed she took two toys and told police she swapped one item for another at one point, Swartzendruber said. Police recovered two toys and returned them to the drop-off box at the library.

Rudsinski, who has two children, said she thought the toys in the collection box were there for anyone to take, Swartzendruber said. There is no indication that Rudsinski has taken toys from any other collection boxes, he said, and she doesn't have a criminal history.

Police received a handful of tips and appreciated the community's concern regarding the situation, Swartzendruber said.

"There was obviously a lot of community interest in that," he said.

After the theft, the library moved the Toys for Tots collection box into the children's section, where it can be monitored, Swartzendruber said.

Rudsinski was released on bond and given a court date of Jan. 12, according to the news release.