The woman falsely accused by a mother of trying to kidnap her children in a parking lot tells she and her husband are continuing to suffer from the accusations levied at them, even after the “mom influencer” admitted to fabricating the story.
The trouble for Sadie and Eddie Martinez began when Katie Sorenson accused them of trying to abduct her children at a Michael’s craft store in Northern California In December 2020. Sorenson reported this alleged incident to the authorities and posted it on Instagram. The entire tale was, however, false.
Sorenson has been convicted of a misdemeanor, making a false reporting.
“Ms. Sorensen has been held accountable for her crime, and we believe the judge handed down a fair sentence,” Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said in the statement after Sorenson’s sentencing. “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.”
She says that Sadie Martinez and Eddie Martinez are still dealing with the consequences of false allegations. They have “been harassed Online Shopping,” she says. “It’s been random things you don’t expect to deal with until somebody labels you a child abductor.”
They claim that even their landlord has turned against them.
“He found a way to evict us,” she says. “We found ourselves in a bad situation.”
Sorenson, who was sentenced to jail for 90 days on Thursday by the authorities could serve 60 of those on work release. Also, she was sentenced to 12 month of probation.
“I believe she’s in the right place,” Sadie says of Sorenson’s sentencing including jail time. She does not think the sentence is appropriate.
“I think it should have been a hate crime originally,” she says of the case’s designation.
The Martinezes came forward after Sorenson reported the fake incident and recognized themselves in the surveillance footage. They claimed they had been victims of racial discrimination. After Sorenson initially reported the made-up incident, the Martinezes recognized themselves on surveillance tape and came forward to say they were victims of racial profiling. investigation The police cleared the men of all charges. Prosecutors said the store’s surveillance video cracked the case.