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Katie Sorensen has been featured on Instagram as a maternity influencer.
2 hours ago
In her car and in front of her cell phone, Kathleen Sorensen began reporting via video about a situation that left her “paralyzed with fear”: the alleged attempt to kidnap her children.
The American resident of a town north of San Francisco, California, detailed how a “not very clean” man and woman tried to get their two young children into a store.
His video, posted to Instagram in late 2020, garnered over 4.5 million views (before it was removed). It also brought great notoriety to the woman, who selfdescribed as a “maternity influencer.”
She was invited to a local TV show to tell what happened.
But 30yearold Sorensen was sentenced on Thursday (June 29) to 90 days in prison, plus 12 months’ probation, for “knowingly untruthfully” accusing a couple of Nicaraguan origin of allegedly attempting to kidnap their children.
“She has been ordered not to post on social media, her electronic devices have been searched and confiscated, she must undergo a fourhour training course and face multiple fines and honoraria,” the Sonoma County Attorney’s Office said. , in California.
Sadie Vega Martinez and her husband Eddie Martinez, the couple falsely accused by Sorensen, celebrated the decision.
“After years of being evaded, she was told she was found guilty and left handcuffed… Yes, justice was served,” said Sadie VegaMartinez.
At Thursday’s hearing, Sorensen claimed she “misinterpreted” the events of that day as she was overwhelmed by the restrictions imposed by the Covid19 pandemic.
What happened in the store?
On December 7, 2020, Sorensen took her two young children to Michaels Craft Store in Petaluma.
After purchasing a few items, the woman got back in her car and drove away. “Minutes later, Sorensen called Petaluma police and reported that a couple had attempted to kidnap their children,” prosecutors said Thursday.
She initially said she was not interested in pressing charges and just wanted to report the couple’s “suspicious behavior”. But he also did not name the details that he later revealed in his video.
In her Instagram post a week later, Sorensen said she overheard the couple talking in the store about their children’s ages and their white skin.
Then, she continued, she was followed to the parking lot, where the man allegedly tried to take her stroller. The moment made her “paralyzed with fear,” she said.
“By the absolute grace of God,” she said, an elderly man realized something was wrong and the couple had to run to his own car to flee.
His story quickly went viral and caused alarm in Petaluma.
The local uproar prompted the police to expand their investigation into the case, which was dropped as there were initially no suspects.
They again interviewed Sorensen, who named the couple “as perpetrators” in the store’s security camera video, prosecutors said Thursday.
“Sorensen’s report has been found to be false and the accused couple has vigorously denied this, as has the store video,” he added.
Security videos showed that neither the Nicaraguan couple nor anyone else approached her, as she assured on Instagram.
Sadie and Eddie Martinez were unaware of Sorensen until they saw the news reports naming them as suspects.
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Petaluma is a city north of San Francisco
‘I have got it wrong’
The woman was charged with three felonies, but in the end the judge convicted her of only misdemeanor, which gives her an early release and just a month in prison.
“Sorensen has been held accountable for her crime and we believe the judge rendered a fair judgment. “We hope this level of accountability will help clear the couple who have been falsely accused of attempting to kidnap two young children,” said District Attorney Carla Rodriguez.
Now the woman claims she was wrong.
“My intent was to report behavior that I found suspicious,” Sorensen said in Thursday’s statement, The Sonoma IndexTribune reported.
“I misinterpreted the events of that day,” she said.
He explained that at the time he was feeling “the apprehension and anxiety” of the pandemic, which affected his understanding of what was happening around him.
“I felt like I had failed to protect my children.”