Sonoma County Superior Court jurors, who began deliberating Tuesday in the trial of Katie Sorensen, must decide whether the former Sonoma woman truly believed a Petaluma couple tried to kidnap her children in December 2020 or whether her false accusations caused enough damage for her to be convicted of filing false police reports.
Deliberations are expected to resume Wednesday in the case of the would-be social media influencer, who repeated her false claims — that her children were nearly kidnapped on Dec. 7, 2020 — in an Instagram video she posted that was viewed more than 4 million times.
The jury of eight men and four women received the misdemeanor case Tuesday after the prosecution and defense each spent an hour delivering their closing arguments.
Opposing attorneys focused heavily on whether Sorensen knew she was making false statements to police when she identified a Petaluma couple as “child abductors.”
Police later determined the couple had done nothing wrong and Sorensen’s statements were all false.
Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner, throughout last week’s three days of testimony, argued Sorensen knew she was wrong and had committed a “grave mistake.”
“It’s a mistake she should be held accountable for,” he concluded Tuesday.
“She came into court and she lied to...
In certain instances, it is evident that misinformation is created and disseminated on social media by exploiting sensitive issues and presenting unverified claims as factual events. Presented bel...