By Mike Schneider, Associated Press, 10/17/02

Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida Governor Jeb Bush, will spend 10 days in an Orange County, Fla., jail. (AP Photo / Orange County handout)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was sentenced to 10 days in jail and led away in handcuffs Thursday after being accused of having crack cocaine in her shoe while in drug rehab.

Noelle Bush, 25, kissed her aunt Dorothy Koch as a sheriff's deputy cuffed her behind the back. Koch is the sister of President Bush and the governor, who was not in court.

In a statement, the governor said he realizes that his daughter must face the consequences of her actions.

"Every parent of a child with an addiction understands that the long road to recovery is never easy and that there are numerous challenges along the way," he said. "This is a very difficult time for all of us ... and I pray every day our beautiful daughter will once again know a life free from the horrors of substance abuse."

The governor was taping a television news interview in Tampa when he received word of the sentence.

Later in the day, he joined his brother, President Bush, who had scheduled a visit to Florida to bolster the governor's re-election hopes. The president discussed education at a New Smyrna Beach elementary school and held a fund-raiser for Jeb Bush's campaign.

Later, Gov. Bush said he did not attend the hearing because he did not want to bring more media attention to the case. He refused to say whether he would visit his daughter in jail.

"I have a job to do and I intend to do my job," he told reporters. "But that doesn't mean that I don't think about my daughter every minute of every day."

He added: "I pray every day with my wife that ... she realizes that she needs to make better choices in her life."

Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said Noelle Bush will be kept in protective custody, away from other inmates and under 24-hour surveillance.

Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead did not specify a reason for jailing her but told her he was aware of allegations she was found with crack. After she gets out of jail, she will go back to the drug treatment center.

Before being sentenced, she told the judge: "I sincerely apologize for what happened and promise to do well at the Center for Drug-Free Living."

The president's niece has been undergoing drug treatment in Orlando since February, after she accused of trying to use a forged prescription to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax at a pharmacy drive-through window.

In July, she went to jail for two days after she was caught with prescription pills at the rehab center.

Last month, police were called to the center after another patient reported that Bush had crack. But no charges were ever filed. Staff members refused to cooperate with police, citing federal privacy regulations, and a judge upheld the rehab center's position.

On Thursday, Whitehead told Bush that she could have faced felony drug charges if he had not decided to give her another chance.

"I want you to have some time to think and reflect on this," Whitehead said. "You should be disappointed that you let yourself down."