Social media influencer who lied about couple kidnapping kids gets jail time
California "mom influencer," Katie Sorensen, who accused a couple of trying to kidnap her kids while she was shopping has been handed a prison sentence.
Sorensen 31, told Petaluma Police on December 7, 2020, that a Latino couple had tried to abduct her one and four-year-old children, from a parking lot outside a Michael's craft store, prosecutors said.
However, investigation proved Sorensen's account to be false after video surveillance from the store and testimony from the accused couple contradicted her account, according to authorities.
The couple, cleared of the allegations, say they were victims of racism.
Sorensen, convicted in April, has been ordered to serve 90 days in county jail, with the possibility of 60 days on a work release program, for knowingly fabricating a crime report.
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Kathleen 'Katie' Sorensen, 31, accused the couple of trying to kidnap her children (Twitter/henrykleeKTVU)District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said: "Ms Sorensen has been held accountable for her crime, and we believe the judge handed down a fair sentence.
"Our hope is that this measure of accountability will help provide some closure to the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children."
Additionally, she faces 12 months of probation, during which she is prohibited from having any social media presence, subjected to warrantless search and seizure, including her electronic devices, required to complete a four-hour implicit bias training, and liable for various fines.
Authorities said there is no proof the couple tried to kidnap the woman's kids (Twitter/henrykleeKTVU)The incident unfolded when Sorensen visited the Petaluma Police Department to report alleged suspicious behavior by a couple at a local craft store.
She accused Sadie and Eddie Martinez of abducting her children, despite the couple merely purchasing a decorative baby Jesus for a nativity scene during the same time.
Days later, Sorensen took to Instagram, sharing her fabricated story with her 57,000 followers under the account 'motherhoodessentials_.'
Martinez said she understood why police put out a surveillance photo showing her and her husband, but she doesn't like it. (Twitter/henrykleeKTVU)The video, viewed nearly five million times, led to Sorensen's interview with a local news outlet, where she further embellished her claims not previously disclosed to police.
Sorensen told Petaluma police the couple made comments about her children's appearance as they walked behind her.
The ensuing investigation, prompted by the inconsistencies in her account and the lack of evidence from store surveillance, revealed the falsity of Sorensen's accusations.
Speaking to KTVU, Sadie Martinez questioned the ethics of spreading racist narratives online and fabricating stories about innocent families.
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"To get up to go shopping one day and then be accused of trying to abduct somebody's children is heartbreaking," Martinez said.
"Do you really think it's OK to go online and be racist and make stories about a family?" she asked. "It's hard enough to be a Latin family in a white community."
Sorensen faced two misdemeanour counts of making a false report of a crime, with one charge dropped before her hearing earlier this year.
Following her sentencing on Thursday, she was remanded to serve her jail term.
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