Sherri Papini, the most infamous fake kidnap victim in recent memory, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and must pay $300,000 in restitution, a far steeper punishment than federal prosecutors asked for.
Papini, 40, agreed to a plea deal in April, accepting a reduced sentence in exchange for admitting that she fabricated her "kidnapping" ordeal. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office asked Judge William Shubb to give her eight months in prison; Papini's lawyer William Portanova argued for one month of prison time and seven months of home detention.
"Outwardly sweet and loving, yet capable of intense deceit … Ms. Papini's chameleonic personalities drove her to simultaneously crave family security and the freedom of youth," Portanova wrote in a court filing submitted last week.
"Sherri's years of denial are now undeniably over. Her name is now synonymous with this awful hoax," he continued. "There is no escaping it."
On Nov. 2, 2016, Papini was reported missing after going for a jog in her Redding neighborhood. Her phone and earbuds were found neatly placed on the side of a road, playing her wedding song, Michael Buble's "Everything," on repeat. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, she resurfaced on Interstate 5, badly bruised and underweight.
She told investigators that while on her jog, she saw an SUV with two "Hispanic" women inside. When Papini got closer, she said one woman pulled a gun on her and ordered her into the vehicle. Despite the terror of the abduction, Papini told FBI agents that she slept most of the drive. She did not allege she was drugged, although at one point she asked if a stun gun would affect her memory; investigators told her this was unlikely.
Papini said one woman told her they were going to "sell" her to "a cop." She could not explain why she was released by her abductors.
According to an unsealed FBI affidavit, DNA found on Papini's clothing was linked to an ex-boyfriend in Southern California. According to the affidavit, the man, who had known Papini since they were teenagers, said she contacted him "out of the blue" and claimed "her husband was beating and raping her, and she was trying to escape." The ex-boyfriend allegedly told investigators he drove from his residence in Southern California to Redding on Nov. 2, 2016, to pick up Papini.The ex-boyfriend claimed he eventually drove Papini back toward Redding, dropping her off when she instructed him to.
Papini must turn herself in in November. The restitution money will go toward reimbursing security upgrades prosecutors say she made to her home, along with trauma therapy provided by the state.
"I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so very sorry for the pain I've caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me," she said in a statement in April. "I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done."
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