A mother from California who staged her own kidnapping to spend time with her covert ex-boyfriend has been given an 18-month prison term.
Sherri Papini, 40, admitted in April to mail fraud and making false claims after allegedly going missing on November 2, 2016, setting off a frenzied hunt.
Papini agreed to a plea deal that included paying more than $300,000 in reparations as well as serving 36 months of closely monitored probation after her release.
After Papini made an emotional statement acknowledging how her prank had harmed others, the judge passed judgement, according to The Sacramento Bee.
“I am guilty of lying. I am guilty of dishonor. I stand before you willing to accept. To repent and to concede. I trust in this court. I trust the officers handling my release and I trust in you, your honor, to see me, to hear me,” she told the court.
The mother of two lied about being kidnapped, but police eventually found out she had been staying with James Reyes, an ex-partner who resided around 600 miles away from her house.
William Portanova, Papini’s attorney, requested that she serve “a term of no more than eight months, with one month in custody and seven months of home detention under suitable terms and conditions.”
However, the prosecution requested that she be imprisoned for eight months, claiming that “Papini’s kidnapping fake was purposeful, well organised, and clever.”
According to a sentencing statement from Portanova, his client has already been subjected to enough scrutiny and punishment after receiving criticism from the public for her actions, according to Law & Crime.
“Ms Papini maintained the lie for years thereafter, terrified that she had actually destroyed the one thing in her life that brought her true love and happiness, her family, desperately praying that the day of discovery would never come,” Portanova said on her behalf.
