HOOVER, Ala. — Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who admitted to faking her own abduction after she was reported missing in July, was found guilty on Wednesday of filing a false police report and falsely reporting the incident.
The ruling by Hoover Municipal Judge Thomas Brad Bishop came after Russell pleaded not guilty to the charges, AL.com reported.
Bishop recommended one year in jail and $17,874 in restitution. He also recommended two fines of $831 each, according to the news outlet.
Carlee Russell found guilty on 2 misdemeanor charges related to kidnapping hoax https://t.co/Z65eaG4LCD
— Mike Dubberly GDA (@MikeDubberlyGDA) October 11, 2023
Russell, 25, originally called police on the evening of July 13, saying that she saw a child clad in a diaper on the side of the road on Interstate 459 near Hoover, Alabama. She returned to her home two days later.
Officials said surveillance video from Russell’s neighborhood in Hoover showed her walking on a sidewalk alone before she arrived home. She gave police a brief statement after she was taken to an area hospital.
Russell said that on the night of her alleged disappearance, a man emerged from nearby trees after she exited her vehicle to check on the baby.
Russell later admitted to authorities that the kidnapping and the story about the child on the interstate were hoaxes, WIAT-TV reported.
Authorities are still unclear about Russell’s location during the 49 hours she was allegedly missing, according to WBRC-TV.
Russell, who was represented by attorneys Emory Anthony and Richard Jaffe, is appealing the ruling to the circuit court, AL.com reported.
“There’s no need of having a trial here, knowing their position,’’ Anthony told the news outlet. “We have stipulated and appealed the case and it will start anew in the Bessemer Circuit Court.”
Russell’s attorneys said they disagreed with jail time for their client for a Class A misdemeanor.
“If you can find where someone was put in jail for that, bring the file to me and I’ll look at it,’’ Anthony told AL.com. “Generally, they’re not put in jail.
“Restitution, we don’t disagree with that, but to lock her up and put her in jail, we disagree.”
