Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall recently spoke with CBS 42 Morning News about the Carlee Russell kidnapping hoax, which occurred one year ago on Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Last summer, Russell, a nursing student, gained national notoriety when she went missing for two days in Hoover. Recently, she admitted to filing a false police report and falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement. This confession came during her court appearance at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Bessemer where she pleaded guilty. Fortunately, Russell was not sentenced to jail time for her actions. However, she received a six-month suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation for a year.
Russell has been directed to pay an amount of almost $18,000 in compensation to the city of Hoover and carry out 100 hours of community service as a penalty.
After admitting her guilt in the case, Carlee issued an apology to the community, the volunteers, and Hoover. Emory Anthony, Russell’s attorney, expressed the hope that everyone would accept her apology and allow her to move on with her life.
Nick Derzis, the chief of the Hoover Police, expressed disappointment with the sentencing of Russell, calling it “a little disappointing” given the elaborate nature of the hoax. He compared Russell’s punishment to that of someone who steals a chainsaw from Home Depot.
Russell has yet to provide an explanation for her false account of events leading up to her disappearance.
Legislation was passed after Russell’s staged kidnapping incident, which made it a felony to file a false report of a crime, especially if it claims an immediate threat to an individual or the community. The bill’s advocates argued that the misdemeanor charges against Russell were insufficient, given the extensive search operations that were initiated as a result of her actions.
Law enforcement would expect the convicted individual to reimburse any expenses incurred during the investigation as restitution.
