A judge sentenced a social media influencer, 30-year-old Katie Sorensen, to 9 days in jail after accusing a Latino couple of trying to kidnap her kids at a crafts store in Northern California in 2020.
The Sonoma County district attorney's office said the influencer could serve 60 days out of the 90-day conviction on a work-release program. Authorities convicted Sorensen in April for knowingly making a false report of a crime related to the 2020 incident.
Social Media Influencer Jailed Over False Kidnapping Report
Prosecutors argued that on Dec. 7, 2020, the social media influencer called the Petaluma Police Department claimed that a Latino couple tried to kidnap her two young children at a Michaels craft store. A week after the report, Sorensen posted a video on Instagram detailing the incident, which went viral.
The news put Sorensen in the spotlight and got her to talk at a local news program, where she repeated her claims. Prosecutors said that the influencer's report had been determined to have been false and resoundingly contradicting statements from the accused and video footage from the store authorities obtained, as per CBS News.
Reports noted that she enjoyed a modest following on her @motherhoodessentials Instagram account before Sorensen was charged. Videos she uploaded to her profile regarding the alleged kidnapping were viewed more than 4 million times, resulting in her gaining tens of thousands of new followers.
The Latino couple accused of kidnapping were Eddie Martinez and Sadie Vega-Martinez, who said she was happy about Sorensen's conviction. Sadie argued that the social media influencer avoided accountability for the incident for several years.
The judge responsible for the case also ordered Sorensen to 12 months of probation on top of the prison time. During that time, the influencer was ordered not to have any social media presence, submit to warrantless search and seizure, including her electronic devices, and complete a four-hour implicit bias training and various fines and fees.
Accusing a Latino Couple of Kidnapping
In Sorensen's initial videos, she sat inside her vehicle as she relayed her claims about Eddie and Sadie's alleged kidnapping attempt on her children. According to the Daily Mail, the social media influencer allegedly made the video to show her followers what signs to look out for to protect children from alleged kidnappers.
The social media influencer claimed that she heard the Latino couple talking about her children's ages and fair complexions when they were near the store's spray-paint aisle, then followed them out of the establishment.
Sorensen said that the couple held hands and walked about halfway around her car several times before Eddie tried to snatch her kid's stroller. She said she was grateful that an elderly man parked nearby noticed the situation, which caused the couple to flee inside their car.
Authorities closed the investigation into the Latino couple on Dec. 17, 2020, after finding "no evidence or witnesses corroborating" the social media influencer's account. A day after, Petaluma's police chief released a press statement that the report was false, clearing Eddie and Sadie's names, said Elle.
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