SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Northern California mother of two was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for faking her own kidnapping so she could go back to a former boyfriend, which led to a three-week, multi-state search before she resurfaced on Thanksgiving Day in 2016.Sherri Papini, 40, pleaded guilty last spring under a plea bargain that requires her to pay more than $300,000 in restitution.Probation officers and Papini’s attorney had recommended that she spend a month in custody and seven months in supervised home detention.
But Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb said he opted for an 18-month sentence in order to deter others.The judge said he considered the seriousness of the offense and "the sheer number of people who were impacted."Papini, who was emotional throughout the proceedings, quietly answered, "Yes, sir," when the judge asked if she understood the sentence.
Previously she was in tears as she gave a statement to the court accepting responsibility and admitting her guilt."As painful as it is," Papini accepts her sentence as part of her recovery, defense attorney William Portanova said after the hearing.Portanova previously said Papini was troubled and disgraced and that she should serve most of her sentence at home.
Prosecutors, though, said it was imperative that she spend her full term in prison. The judge ordered her to report to prison Nov.