Husband of Sherri Papini, spouse who lied about 2016 kidnapping, information for divorce, baby custody

The husband of Sherri Papini, a California woman who admitted to fabricating a 2016 kidnapping that sparked a nationwide search, has filed for divorce and emergency custody of the couple’s two children, according to court documents obtained on Friday became.

In divorce papers filed in State Superior Court in Redding earlier this week, an attorney for Keith Papini found Sherri Papini pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer, saying she was “under exceptional pressure national media attention is on her case.”

The filing states that she “did not act rationally” and that her children, aged 9 and 7, “should not be subjected to the traumatic chaos of trying to take actual custody.”

In a statement, Keith Papini said his goal is to provide a safe and stable environment for their children.

“I am asking that the court help me protect my children from the negative effects of their mother’s notoriety,” he said.

A lawyer for Sherri Papini, 39, declined to comment Friday.

Sherri Papini has offered no explanation for the fabricated kidnapping plot involving two Hispanic women whom she claimed held at gunpoint and branded.

Sherri Papini’s three-week disappearance from her Northern California home in November 2016 led to a search across California and several other states, which ended with her emerging from Interstate 5 with a chain around her waist.

She was actually dating an ex-boyfriend in Southern California, authorities said.

After Sherri Papini resurfaced, she demanded $30,000 in Victim Assistance Funds and lied to investigators when they confronted her with evidence that her kidnapping was fake.

Sherri Papini said she was “profoundly ashamed” for inventing the story and that she “will spend the rest of my life working to right what I did.”

In a settlement reached with federal prosecutors this month, she agreed to pay more than $300,000 in damages. She faces maximum sentences of 20 years and five years for the charges, although prosecutors have said they would seek reduced sentences.

Sherri Papini is due to be sentenced on July 11.

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