Sherri Papini: Husband of girl who faked kidnapping in 2016, submitting for divorce and custody of kid

Papini, 39, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and false testimony in court on Monday. She appeared virtually before the US District Court for the Eastern District of California, where Judge William B. Shubb asked her to discuss her background and whether she had ever been treated for a mental illness.

Papini told the court she had been undergoing treatment for about five years as of 2016 for anxiety, depression and PTSD and struggled a bit during middle school.

Keith Papini said in his filing that his wife “did not act rationally.”

His wife lied to their children about their disappearance, Keith Papini said in a court document. “The fact that her mother lied to her about such an important issue is something that she and I find difficult to deal with. We, both children and I, need time to recover and stabilize.”

Sherri hasn’t seen the kids since April 4 and missed a scheduled visiting time, he noted, before asking the court “to help me protect my kids from the ill effects of their mother’s notoriety.”

According to the divorce filing, the Papinis have been married since October 2009 and were separated on March 3, the same day she was arrested on federal charges.

Sherri Papini’s attorney declined to comment on the file.

Papini is currently staying with a relative in Chico, California, about 75 miles south of Keith and the children, court documents show.

The couple are scheduled to address custody issues at a May 9 court hearing.

As CNN previously reported, Papini was reported missing by her husband in November 2016 after she went for a jog near their home in Shasta County. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, she was found alone on a freeway 140 miles from home.

She told police she was abducted and branded by two women who kept her tied up in a closet. She gave a full story of her abduction and treatment by the alleged attackers, who she said wore masks, spoke Spanish, held her at gunpoint and branded her with a heated tool.

However, according to the Justice Department, during the three weeks she was reported missing, Papini actually stayed with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California and received more than $30,000 in fraudulent victim assistance funds based on the hoax, court documents show.

Papini faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. She will be sentenced on July 11.

CNN’s Eric Levenson, Stella Chan and Amir Vera contributed to this report.