'Momfluencer' Katie Sorensen is charged with giving police false information and faces six MONTHS in jail after going viral with fake tale of Latino couple 'trying to snatch her kids'
A wannabe momfluencer in California who went viral after alleging that a Latino couple tried to snatch her children has been charged with giving false information to police, it has been revealed.
Katie Sorensen now faces two misdemeanor counts after she claimed that Eduardo and Sadie Martinez had tried to kidnap her two children, the Argus-Courier revealed.
In her initial videos, Sorenson sat in her car as she relayed the claims about Sadie and Eddie, saying 'My children were the targets of attempted kidnap which is such a weird thing to even vocalize but it happened and I want to share that story with you'.
She later made a complaint to police.
The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office has now charged her with one count of giving false information to a police officer and another for giving false information to a police dispatcher - which each carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail.
Erika Margarita Mitchell, a family member of the couple, posted to Facebook praising prosecutors for charging Sorensen for the case that has been largely criticized as an example of racial profiling.
California mother-of-three Katie Sorensen (pictured) has been charged over a video in which she claimed a Latino couple made a kidnapping attempt on her children
Katie Sorensen made the videos from her car. She claimed her children 'were the targets of attempted kidnap'
Sadie and Eddie Martinez (pictured in CCTV footage released by police), who have five children between them and two grandchildren, have been cleared of any wrongdoing
'Great news for us all but mostly for my cousin, Sadie Vega-Martinez and her husband Eddie. They were falsely accused by this 'influencer' of trying to kidnap her kids at a local Michaels store,' Mitchell wrote.
'A major allegation! She obviously didn't know who she was messing with in my cousin. Prima, I'm so glad you persisted!'
Mitchell added: 'There absolutely need to be consequences for attention seeking 'influencers' that make up drama for likes and views on social.
'Prosecute Katie is now Convict Katie. Can you imagine this happening to YOU? It totally could. And it's unreal.'
The Martinez family, who have five children of their own, told the Argus-Courier that they were 'very happy with the news.'
'It’s a nice step toward justice. It gives you hope,' Sadie Martinez told the outlet.
Martinez has also been appointed to Petaluma's citizen-led advisory committee on policing and race relations by Mayor Teresa Barrett.
She recently unveiled a local version of San Francisco’s CAREN Act - which made racially motivated 911 calls a crime, the Argus-Courier reported.
The saga started when Sorensen posted two videos December 13 in which she detailed claims that she avoided the so-called kidnapping attempt - which racked up more than 4.5 million views on her defunct Instagram @motherhoodessentials.
Sorensen, a mother of three, drove to the police station to report the couple's actions and press charges before uploading the videos, which gained her more than 80,000 followers.
The influencer has it back at criticism. She is pictured here with one of her sons
In her initial videos, Sorenson sat in her car as she relayed the claims about Sadie and Eddie Martinez.
She said: 'My children were the targets of attempted kidnap which is such a weird thing to even vocalize but it happened and I want to share that story with you in an effort to raise awareness to what signs to look for and to encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them.
'I think right now that we are so distracted with everything that's going on in the world that we are have our guard up so much about masks and wanting to keep out children safe that way that we're forgetting the most important way to keep them safe and that is with us.'
According to the police statement, Sorenson said that she noted the suspicious behavior of a man and woman as they followed her and her children around the store and made comments about their appearance.
She told police that they followed her out to her car and lingered by the stroller as she placed her kids back inside the vehicle.
Police said Sorenson had not wanted to have anyone arrested when she filed the report but 'wanted to draw attention to the concerning behavior exhibited by the couple'.
In an interview with KTVU after she posted the videos, however, Sorenson relayed further claims about Sadie and Eddie Martinez.
'I heard them talking about the features of my children, but I was totally paralyzed with fear, I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything,' she said.
The alleged incident took place in the parking lot of this Michael's in Petaluma
Erika Margarita Mitchell, a family member of the couple, posted to Facebook praising prosecutors for charging Sorensen for the case
She claimed that she had spotted the man looking at her in the parking lot before she went inside and that the couple had stood behind her in the checkout but then followed her outside without buying anything.
She noted that when she reached her car, a white van was parked alongside her, which she thought was strange given how far from the store she was.
Sorenson also claimed that the couple took two steps forward and then two steps back as the watched her load her children into the car.
'Very awkward. There is no other explanation to why they would do that other than they were building up the courage' she alleged.
Sorenson told the station that the man had reached out and grabbed the stroller but that another man walked past at the time and she began to scream for help.
She claimed the couple fled the scene in a car, but a third man emerged quickly from the white van. She said he acted like he was trying to help her before fleeing himself.
'I saw these people, they didn't look necessarily clean cut,' Sorenson told KTVU.
'I felt uncomfortable around them, and instead of making them uncomfortable with my discomfort, I chose to remain in my discomfort.'
Sorenson told Buzzfeed that she felt very overwhelmed to the reaction to the videos.
She said that she wanted those sending her negative comments to note that she was 'faced with a traumatic experience, it is impossible to function at full capacity'.
After the couple came forward, Petaluma police cleared Sadie and Eddie Martinez of any wrongdoing and launched the investigation into the momfluencer.
Sadie said she recognized the picture of herself and her husband Eddie when police released a CCTV still of them.
Speaking at a press conference at the time, she said: 'I couldn’t believe it. It's like we’re literally guilty of being brown while shopping.'
And her daughter Esaia told BuzzFeed News: 'This isn’t the first racist injustice to occur in Petaluma by a long shot, but we are definitely grateful that in this case the truth was rightfully pursued.'
No comments