Momfluencer convicted after lying about the attempted 'kidnapping' of her children

A California social media influencer has been found guilty for making false claims that a Latino couple tried to kidnap her kids, a claim which went viral across social media.

Katie Sorensen, 31, who runs a "mom influencer" account on instagram under the username "motherhoodessentials_", was charged on Thursday with one count of filing a false report of a crime. She now faces up to six months in jail, NY Post reports.



Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez praised the verdict, stating that "it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly."

"This verdict will enable us to hold Ms. Sorensen accountable for her crime, while at the same time helping to exonerate the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children," Rodriguez said.



In December 2020, Sorensen posted a fabricated story on instagram which detailed that a Latino couple tried to abduct her children inside a Michael's craft store in Petaluma, California.

"My children were the targets of an attempted kidnapping," Sorensen said at the time. "I want to share that story with you in an effort as to what signs to look for and encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them."

Sorensen left the store and filed a police report, according to NY Post. She then took to instagram to share her fabricated story which went viral across social media, capturing more than 2 million views.

However, police officers that were tasked with the investigation said that the video Sorensen posted to instagram went into great details that "had not been disclosed" to police which sparked suspicions that she may have fabricated the story, according to a Thursday press release from the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

Sorensen's post garnered significant media attention and resulted in her doing an interview with a local news station. During the interview, she repeated her false claims and went as far as identifying the couple, the outlet reports.

During the investigation, police pulled surveillance footage from inside the store's security cameras which exonerated the accused couple. The couple were at a checkout stand buying a decorative baby Jesus. The footage showed no attempted abduction and the couple fully cooperated with the police investigation.

Sadie Martinez, the woman accused of the abduction who is also a parent of young children, slammed Sorensen's claims and called them "racially motivated."

"Do you really think it's OK to go online and be racist and make stories about a family?" Sadie said following the investigation. "It's hard enough to be a Latin family in a white community."

Sorensen remains in jail and bail has been set to $100,000.