A California social media influencer who falsely blamed a Latino couple for trying to kidnap her two children on a viral Instagram video was sentenced to 90 days in jail, prosecutors said Thursday.
On Dec. 7, 2020, Kathleen ‘Katie’ Sorensen, 31, accused the couple of trying to kidnap her children at a Michaels arts and craft store in Sonoma County and filed a false police report.
“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.”
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As part of her sentence, Sorensen will be allowed to serve 60 days of her jail time in a work release program. She was also placed on 12 months probation, during which she will be banned from having a social media presence.
On the day of the false report, Sorenson told police that a Petaluma couple tried to abduct her two kids from the parking lot of the Michael’s craft store. A week later, she posted an Instagram video in which she went into “great detail” about the alleged near abduction.
The video went viral and Sorensen appeared on a local news program. She then falsely implicated the couple, which was contradicted during a police investigation, prosecutors said.
