Authorities stated this week that a mom influencer from California who gained notoriety in 2020 after sharing a video on social media in which she claimed a Latino couple had attempted to kidnap her children had been found guilty of filing a false report of a crime.
According to a news announcement from the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office dated April 27, Kathleen Sorensen, 31, formerly of Sonoma, was detained after the jury rendered a guilty judgment. There is no defined time for a sentence. Her bail was set at $100,000 in the interim.
According to the press release, Sorensen reported to authorities that a Petaluma couple had tried to abduct her two young children at Michael’s craft store on December 7, 2020. A week later, Sorensen released two Instagram videos detailing the accusations, which received over 4 million views.
Her Instagram account, @motherhoodessentials, and those posts have subsequently been taken down. The information in the social media post, according to the authorities, was not included in the initial police complaint, but they have not made it clear what it is.
In the widely shared photos, Sorensen claimed that a man and a woman followed her while she was out shopping with her kids, making remarks about them before attempting to approach them in the parking lot, according to NBC News.
Here are some links to up-to-date California news to keep you informed:
- Florida DoorDash Driver Kidnapped and R*ped During Delivery
- Man Charged With Kidnapping After Taking 9-month-old Toddler From Springfield to Arkansas
In addition, Sorensen said in the video that the man reached into her stroller before she yelled for assistance, telling KTVU that “they didn’t look necessarily clean-cut.” After her TV appearance, police re-interviewed her, and during that interview, she recognized the alleged perpetrators as a pair seen in a store surveillance camera.
After the department determined Sorensen’s report was false, the couple refuted the accusations, and the kidnapping investigation was closed. Later that month, the couple identified themselves as Sadie and Eddie Martinez at a press conference.
According to Sadie Martinez, who was in Michael’s with her husband purchasing Christmas decorations, “It’s like we’re literally guilty of being Brown while shopping,” according to The Argus-Courier. Sorenson’s attorney, Charles Dresow, told The Press Democrat, “The verdict of not guilty as to counts one and two rejects the theory that my client lied to the police on Dec. 7.”
“The jury reviewed the actual evidence and found it to be very different than how the case has been portrayed outside the courtroom. We are disappointed as to count three and will evaluate our options moving forward.” The prosecutor’s office states that the maximum sentence for Sorensen is six months in prison.
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