By Minyvonne Burke -
NBC News
A 31-year-old white woman was convicted in California for fabricating a story about a Latino couple she accused of trying to kidnap her children outside a store in Petaluma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco.
Katie Sorensen, who describes herself on social media as an "
influencer
mom ," was found guilty of false accusation, the Sonoma County Prosecutor's Office (where she resided) reported Thursday.
She had been held on $100,000 bail.
The woman posted a video on social networks in December 2020 in which she claimed that a man and a woman had tried to kidnap their children in the parking lot of a craft store.
'They don't value us': Lynwood, California teachers demand 14.5% pay raise
April 28, 202300:48
The man and woman targeted by Sorensen were identified by local media outlets as Sadie and Eddie Martinez.
Authorities cleared them of any wrongdoing and claimed that the investigation into Sorensen's claims "produced no evidence" to support their allegations.
The District Attorney's Office said Thursday that Sorensen's report to police, which the accused couple "flatly" contradicted, was found to be false. Video from a store security camera also corroborated the couple's account.
Sorensen alleged in a video posted online that the couple had followed her into the store and watched her closely as she shopped with her children in a stroller.
She even claimed that they had made comments about the appearance of the children.
[Young men accused of taking photos after killing a young woman by throwing a rock at her car]
Sorensen said the couple gave him
"bad thorn" and that "they were not neat individuals".
According to her, she did not tell them anything because she was "paralyzed with fear."
In her video, she further alleged that they followed her out of the store to her car and stayed near the stroller while she loaded her children into the vehicle.
He claimed they fled after she screamed for help.
DACA recipients will be able to apply for Medicaid and Obamacare health insurance in May
April 28, 202300:46
Sadie and Eddie Martinez denied Sorensen's statements and told the Petaluma Argus-Courier newspaper that they had gone to the store to buy Christmas decorations.
They added that, in their opinion, Sorensen had singled them out for racist reasons.
Sorensen was arrested and charged in 2021 with three misdemeanor false complaint charges.
She was found not guilty on two of the charges.
“This verdict will allow us to hold Sorensen accountable for his crime, while helping to exonerate the couple who were falsely accused of attempting to kidnap two young children,” prosecutor Carla Rodríguez said in a statement.
[He abused 229 children, mostly Latino. More than 30 years later the victims of him will be compensated]
"The case is also important because it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly," he added.
Sorensen's attorney, Charles Dresow, said: "The not guilty verdict on Counts 1 and 2 rejects the theory that my client lied to the police on December 7." very different to how the case was presented out of court," he added, "we are disappointed by the outcome of Indictment 3 and will evaluate our options."
The maximum penalty for the conviction is six months in prison.