While the monetary value of Nicholas Diehl's alleged thefts is small, Hamilton County prosecutors say the crime is a felony because of the abuse of the public trust, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. If Diehl is convicted of theft in office, he would be barred for the rest of his life from state or local government employment in Ohio.

He could also be sentenced to a year in jail.

Diehl was arrested in early December when he was caught loading paper goods into his car outside the county's Queensgate Jail.

The hygiene kits were meant for inmates without the funds to buy their own.

Diehl worked in data entry.