COLLINSVILLE -- India Dillard quickly became the butt of jokes among her college friends after the arrest last year of Henry County's sheriff and a dozen deputies or former deputies in a sweeping federal corruption probe.

Dillard, a junior at the University of Virginia, said the scandal made her embarrassed to be from Martinsville. Her friends from Northern Virginia thought the whole thing was hilarious.

Some students from Henry County shared in the joke, she said, by creating a Facebook page called something like, "Our county sells drugs. How about yours?"

"It's kind of sad," the 19-year-old said outside the Pigs-R-Us restaurant in Collinsville on Thursday.

Some Henry County residents say the sting of shame is wearing off even as they remain frustrated that the area too often is associated with unpleasant news, be it factory closings or public corruption. Several said, though, that Thursday's guilty plea by former Sheriff Frank Cassell would help put those feelings further behind them.

"It was like a black cloud over us," said Chris Wolf, a county resident and assistant commonwealth's attorney. "Now at least the cloud is moving."

Cassell pleaded guilty to making false statements to investigators as part of an agreement with prosecutors to drop all other charges. He had been accused of obstructing the investigation into the sheriff's office and with trying to cover up an ex-deputy's drug-dealing proceeds.

There are a total of 20 defendants. Seventeen, including Cassell, have pleaded guilty, and three former deputies have trials scheduled. The federal case involves allegations that some sheriff's office employees sold drugs that had been seized as evidence and that guns, money and other items were stolen from evidence.

Cassell could face up to five years in prison, but the charge carries sentencing guidelines of six to 12 months.

Opinions varied widely as to how stiff his punishment should be.

Dillard's mother, Donna Dillard, 42, of Martinsville, said that a year in prison would be too lenient. "That is such a waste of even bringing the FBI in here and everything," she said.

H.G. Vaughn, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, questioned whether Cassell's plea agreement was tough enough.

"When a law enforcement officer ... is guilty of any type of corruption or wrongdoing, they should be held to a higher standard, and the penalty should not be a slap on the hand," Vaughn said. "Are we making a strong statement that we're not going to tolerate any corruption in our law enforcement?"

Some Cassell supporters pointed out, though, that many criminals avoid jail time for committing worse crimes than anything Cassell has been accused of doing.

"He ought to get a slap on the wrist," said Richard Boaz, a Henry County resident who said he has known Cassell for 30 years.

"If he was young enough and he could run again, they'd probably elect him back," added Boaz, who was buying sausage at Collinsville Produce. "He was a good sheriff."

Meanwhile, the current sheriff, Lane Perry, has been working to remove the stain of distrust that the scandal left on the sheriff's office.

"The community has been very supportive in that they have realized there are still many officers here who want to do their jobs with professionalism and integrity," said Perry, who is running for sheriff against Mike McPeek, a retired state trooper who lost to Cassell in the 2003 sheriff's race.

"This provides closure for the community and for the office," Perry said of Cassell's guilty plea. "Hopefully, as the investigations and the trials are winding down, hopefully we can move forward."