Arrest (pexels photo)
The Californian “supermom” who faked her own kidnapping and lied for years about being kidnapped and tortured by a couple of Hispanic women, was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison. Sherry Papini, 40, was described as “manipulative” by U.S. District Judge William Schoeb before handing down the stiff sentence.
The fraudster – nicknamed “Supermom” when she disappeared in 2016 – agreed to a plea deal in April that also requires her to pay more than $300,000 in restitution. The prosecutors asked for a prison sentence of 8 months, according to the sentencing memorandum submitted in her case. The defense asked for a sentence of one month in prison and seven months of house arrest.
“People don’t like to be deceived,” said the judge according to the “Sacramento Bee” website, “and I don’t believe that the people who were deceived will believe that one month or eight months is enough.”
The judge again said he decided on the stiffer sentence to deter other potential hoax schemes — and because of “the sheer number of people affected,” the Associated Press reported.
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Before she was sentenced, the accused Papini read a prepared statement in which she admitted her crimes and apologized, her voice breaking at times: “I am guilty of lying. I am guilty of disgrace. I stand before you ready to accept, repent and confess. I trust this court. I trust the police officers that my release is handled and I trust you, Your Honor, to see me, to hear me,” she said.
Papini, a mother of two, disappeared for more than 20 days in the fall of 2016, reappearing on Thanksgiving Day along Interstate 5 in rural Yolo County, California, with a chain around her waist and a “brand” on her shoulder.
She told police she was kidnapped by a pair of gun-toting Hispanic women while she was jogging near her home on Nov. 2, 2016. She claimed the fictional duo tortured her for more than three weeks — eventually convincing her family and friends that the incident was real.
The pathological liar lied about the ordeal for years, until prosecutors proved she was found during the days she was allegedly abducted with her ex-boyfriend, James Rice, at his Costa Mesa apartment.
In their sentencing filing, prosecutors said Papini’s lies led innocent people into a criminal investigation: “Pappiini made innocent people the targets of a criminal investigation. She made the public fear her Hispanic captors, who allegedly remained free,” they wrote.
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