The Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to the hoax, a Jefferson County judge ruled.
Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping last year, has pleaded guilty and will not serve jail time.
On Thursday, Russell pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing a false police report.
Jefferson County Judge David Carpneter sentenced her to 12 months of supervised probation, 100 hours of community service and $17,974.88 paid in restitution to the City of Hoover. Russell will also have to continue mental health counseling, the judge ordered.
During the hearing, Carpenter blasted Russell, saying that the community was outraged by her stunt.
„It is a waste of resources to put you in jail. It is a waste of resources to have a trial. Although we are upset about what you’ve done, we’re not going to treat you differently than we would any other person charged with misdemeanors,“ Carpenter said.
Judge Carpenter wasn’t the only person furious with Russell’s case.
Back in July, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told Fox News Digital that the state will seek restitution in her case if there was a conviction and said that the hoax could have a „crying wolf“ impact on the public.
„The thing that I think is the most harmful is the many members of the general public that came forward in response to the concern there was an abduction of a young female and trying to find her,“ Marshall previously said.
