“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.”
The influencer reported “suspicious behaviour exhibited by two adults (a man and a woman) at a Michael’s craft store” at the Petaluma Police Department in December 2020.
She accused Sadie and Eddie Martinez of attempting to kidnap her two children, aged one and four at the time. The couple were in the store to buy a baby Jesus decoration for a nativity scene.
Days after reporting the supposed crime, Sorensen repeated the story to her 57,000 Instagram followers, claiming the Martinezes had tried to kidnap her children and adding information she hadn’t told police.
In a video shared to her account @motherhoodessentials_, Sorensen claimed, “My children were the targets of an attempted kidnapping.”
“I want to share that story with you in an effort [to help you know] what signs to look for and encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them.”
The video was viewed nearly five million times and led to an interview with local news. Sorenson then spoke to another outlet, again sharing details she had not given police, which eventually led to an investigation into her allegations.
In another interview with police, Sorensen identified the Martinezes, but her side of the story contradicted theirs - and CCTV footage from the store proved there had been no suspicious activity.
Sadie Martinez told news outlet KTVU at the time, “Do you really think it’s okay to go online and be racist and make [up] stories about a family? It’s hard enough to be a Latin family in a white community.”
Sorensen was first charged in April 2021 on two misdemeanour counts of falsely reporting a crime. One charge was dropped before her hearing earlier this year.
After her sentencing, she was immediately remanded to begin serving her sentence.
