A California mother has been sentenced to 90 days in prison after making a false report of an attempted abduction of her children.
In December 2020, prominent Instagram influencer Kathleen “Katie” Sorensen claimed that a Latino couple abducted her children from a local Michael’s.
She said on the social media platform that her “children were the targets of attempted kidnap,” which quickly garnered attention from her followers. Her Instagram followers skyrocketed from 6,000 to over 80,000 after the allegations.
According to the police, Sorensen said that the Martinezes followed her through the store and lurked around her car as she carried her children. She also claimed that they made comments about her kids and described them to someone on the phone.
Sorensen said that the couple followed her to the checkout line and then to her car in the parking lot, where she noticed a white van parked nearby. The California influencer believed that their behavior was an attempt to get ready to kidnap her and her children.
Following a thorough investigation, however, police discovered inconsistencies in Sorensen’s narrative when security footage debunked her claims that the Martinezes did not make any purchases, immediately casting doubt on her accusations. The Martinez family was apparently shopping for a Nativity display at the time.
“Ms. Sorensen’s report was determined to be false and resoundingly contradicted by the accused couple as well as store video that was obtained,” prosecutors said.
This week, Judge Laura Passaglia sentenced Sorensen to 90 days behind bars. In addition to the prison time, she will also serve a 12-month informal probation period and face various penalties and punishments such as abstaining from all forms of social media and attending a 4-hour training on implicit bias.
“Ms. Sorensen has been held accountable for her crime and we believe the judge handed down a fair sentence,” District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in a statement. “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.”
Sorensen’s sentencing serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of making false accusations, as well as the need for caution and scrutiny in the age of social media, where claims can quickly gain traction and impact innocent lives.
