GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A woman who illegally possessed a pink handgun that a child took to a Grand Rapids elementary school in a backpack has been sentenced to a year in jail. Chelsea Berkley cried when the sentence was announced Thursday, telling the judge she would lose her home. "That firearm was unsecured," Kent County Circuit Court Judge Scott Noto said. "There could have been tragic consequences as a result of that." Mom acquitted of child abuse in school gun case The son of Berkley’s then-fiancée brought the unloaded gun to Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School in May 2023. It was quickly confiscated and no one was hurt. Berkley admitted to buying the gun on the street for $150, court records show. The unloaded gun that was found in a 7-year-old's backpack at Cesar E. Chavez Elementary on May 3, 2023. (Courtesy Grand Rapids Public Schools) Berkley, 31, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a habitual offender. She should not have had a gun due to her criminal record. She pleaded guilty in September to being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Sentencing guidelines called for a term of between nine and 23 months behind bars. Woman pleads guilty in case of pink gun at Grand Rapids school In sentencing her to a year in jail, Noto credited Berkley for the 111 days she has already served. "Miss Berkley, this is a situation where a child from your household brought an unsecured firearm into a school," Noto said. "That is not what you are charged with. You are charged with possessing that firearm." "That is a very dangerous situation, Miss Berkley," the judge continued. "That firearm was unsecured. There could have been tragic consequences as a result of that." Her defense attorney asked for no additional jail time, saying Berkley hasn’t had an easy life and is "taking care of herself now." "I would never want to see anybody in harm’s way,’’ Berkley told the judge before she was sentenced. "I am a changed person."