Who is Katie Sorensen? The former Sonoma ‘mom influencer’ setenced to jail for making a false crime report
Former Sonoma resident Katie Sorensen was sentenced to jail Thursday for lying to police about an attempted kidnapping.
Sorensen went viral for two Instagram videos describing the alleged kidnap attempt, in which she claimed a Petaluma couple tried to take her two children in 2020.
A Sonoma County jury found the now Montana resident guilty of making a false report of a crime in April.
So, who is Katie Sorensen? Here’s what to know.
In December of 2020, Sorensen made a pair of videos on Instagram in which she described being followed Dec. 7, 2020, by an unknown man and woman at the Petaluma Michaels craft store on North McDowell Boulevard, from the time she arrived in the parking lot with her children until they returned to her car.
In the parking lot, she said the couple approached her as she was putting one of her children in a car seat in what she suspected was an attempt to grab the stroller. A separate man who spotted Sorensen and recognized she was in danger stepped in to help, she said in the videos. Meanwhile, she said the pair drove off.
Those videos garnered more than 4.5 million views on Instagram, where Sorensen was reported to be a “mom influencer” who posted frequently on the platform.
At the same time, Sorensen made an attempted kidnapping report to Petaluma police about the incident, police said at the time. Police investigators deemed the report a “suspicious circumstances” case, noting inconsistencies between her account to officers and information she provided in the videos, police said in a prepared statement at the time.
By Dec. 18, 2020, Petaluma police said they found no evidence of a crime and closed the case.
Meanwhile, the Petaluma couple named in the report and videos, who are Latino, said in December 2020 that Sorensen’s report was racially motivated and merited her prosecution for filing a false police report.
In April the following year, Sorensen was charged with giving false information to police, Sonoma County prosecutors said at the time. The case garnered national attention.
After numerous delays, Sorensen’s trial began April 18, 2023. Sorensen was officially charged with three misdemeanor counts of making a false report of a crime due to statements she made during interviews on Dec. 7, 2020, with a Petaluma police dispatcher and a police officer and in a third interview on Dec. 14, 2020, with a detective.
Prosecutors said the former Sonoma resident was trying to boost her Instagram brand and raise money when she made the attempted kidnapping report and videos.
On the stand, Sorensen claimed she “misinterpreted” the events in the Michaels parking lot.
After five hours of deliberations, jurors acquitted her of the first two counts, but found her guilty of the third count, which was related to the Dec. 14 interview.
She was quickly placed in handcuffs and led from the courtroom. Officials said she is being held in the Sonoma County jail.
Sorensen was sentenced June 29 to 30 days in jail and 60 days under work release.
Here is some of what The Press Democrat has written about the case:
December 2020: Petaluma police probe ’suspicious’ incident after mom alleges child kidnap attempt in viral videos
December 2020: Police find no crime connected to kidnapping report by local ’mom influencer’
April 2021: Racially profiled during Michael’s shopping trip, Petaluma family speaks out
April 2021: Sonoma mom influencer who alleged ’kidnapping’ plot charged with filing false report
July 2021: Sonoma Instagram influencer charged with lying to police pleads not guilty
December 2021: Case delayed again for Instagram mom charged with lying to Petaluma police
April 2022: Local case involving influencer’s false allegations featured in Elle Magazine
July 2022: Sonoma influencer will have to wait to see if false reporting case will be dismissed
September 2022: Ex-Sonoma mom influencer accused of falsely reporting kidnap attempt to stand trial
February 2023: Former Sonoma ‘influencer’ loses 2nd attempt to dismiss charges for kidnapping hoax
April 2023: Trial starts for former Sonoma influencer accused of reporting fake kidnapping attempt
April 2023: After viral video, Petaluma couple labeled ‘child abductors,’ wife says
April 2023: Store surveillance footage presented in Sonoma County fake kidnapping attempt case
April 2023: Sorensen says she ‘misinterpreted’ events when she made Petaluma attempted kidnap claim
April 2023: ‘Mom influencer’ Katie Sorensen ‘lied to us,’ prosecutor says in closing argument
April 2023: ‘Mom influencer’ Katie Sorensen guilty of making false report of a crime
April 2023: Katie Sorensen to be sentenced in June following guilty verdict for filing false police report
June 2023: Influencer case: Katie Sorensen’s sentencing pushed back 2 weeks
June 2023: Ex-Sonoma County ‘mom influencer’ Katie Sorensen sentenced to 30 days in jail, 60 days work release
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: