Alabama woman Carlee Russell found guilty of faking her own abduction, could spend one year behind bars

Carlee Russell, an Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping, has been found guilty of the crime. The nursing student, 26, has been convicted of filing a false police report and falsely reporting that she saw a baby crawling along a highway shortly before she disappeared.

Carlee has entered a not-guilty plea even though she had previously publicly admitted to the hoax. A Hoover judge recommended a one-year prison sentence for Carlee, as well as a restitution payment of $17,874. The judge also recommended two fines of $831 each. She is free on a bond at present.

‘But she has apologized for what transpired’

Carlee and her team are now planning to appeal the verdict to the circuit court. Her attorney, Emory Anthony, said that the jail time is not an appropriate punishment for a Class A misdemeanour. Emory also pointed out that this was her client’s first offence. “She has apologized … through me but that’s not good enough. But she has apologized for what transpired,” Emory said, according to New York Post.

Emory also told WVTM that Carlee does not have objections against paying restitution. “I think anything is fair when it comes to restitution with the expenses that were done. So we have to say that is fair. Anytime you assert restitution it has to be proven. The amount $17-thousand and some, hours spent, I would think that would be fair,” Emory said.

The drama unfolded on July 13, when Carlee reported seeing a toddler in a diaper on the side of an interstate in Hoover while she was driving. Hoover is a city of around 92,000 south of Birmingham.

She then mysteriously went missing, prompting a massive manhunt. However, on July 15, she returned home and claimed that she had been abducted and forced into an 18-wheeler. About a week later, she admitted in a statement through her attorney that she had lied about the kidnapping. She also admitted that she never saw a toddler. The same month, she was charged with misdemeanor counts of false reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident.