Kidnapping hoaxer Sherri Papini back in court for child visitation battle with ex-husband
Share and Follow

The California mother who pleaded guilty in 2022 to charges related to faking her own kidnapping six years prior is back in court, this time fighting her ex-husband for visitation rights with their two children. 

“For eight years our family has been followed, stalked, harassed and bullied by the media,” Sherri Papini said in a court filing for a Friday visitation hearing according to KRCR. “I have done my best to stay private to focus on my children and healing from the events that transpired. For many years after my arrest, I was the primary caregiver of our children before serving my time in prison. My children have always been my primary focus.”

Papini wants to be able to see the children again after an eight-year saga that has garnered international press attention and was even the subject of a Hulu documentary. 

Her ex-husband, Keith Papini, is fighting to shelter the pair’s children from their mother. 

Attorneys for both sides pleaded their case in front of Judge Kathryn J. Barton of the Shasta County Superior Court. 

Sherri Papini leaves a California courthouse

Sherri Papini departs a child custody hearing in Redding, California on Friday, March 21, 2025. Papini previously served 18 months in federal prison for faking her own kidnapping in 2016. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

She was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but released in 2023 after about 11 months behind bars. 

Keith Papini hoax Gone Girl Cedric McMillan Fake kidnapping

Sherri Papini, center, leaves the federal courthouse after Federal Judge William Shubb sentenced her to 18 months in federal prison, in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Federal prosecutors had asked that she be sentenced to eight months in prison for faking her own kidnapping in 2016. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Fox News Digital reached out to the attorneys for both parties. 

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
UN commission accuses Israel of 'extermination' in controversial report

UN blasted for funding committee ‘created to destroy the Jewish state,’ despite budget crisis

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Critics slammed the United…
Texas dad hailed a hero after injury while saving family from flood

Heroic Texas Father Injured While Rescuing Family from Flood Recieves Praise

The family of a Texas father who died while rescuing his loved…
Chicago-area priest Father Curtis Lambert accused of sexual abuse of a minor at Sacred Heart Parish in Melrose Park: Archdiocese

“Archdiocese Reports Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Chicago Priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Melrose Park”

MELROSE PARK, Ill. (WLS) — A priest who served at multiple Chicago-area…
Camp Mystic director died while trying to save campers from Texas floods

Director of Camp Mystic dies attempting to rescue campers during Texas flooding

Dick Eastland, longtime owner and director of Camp Mystic, was described as…
A-lister mansion that takes up a ZIPCODE... with mysterious symbols

Luxurious Mansion Covers Entire Area with Secret Symbols

Plenty of Hollywood stars own lavish estates, but only one – that…
Avalon Park, Chicago shooting: 16-year-old Meeyah Smith killed, man hurt in 1200-block of East 83rd Street, police department says

Fatal shooting in Avalon Park, Chicago: Teenage girl dies, and a man injured in a shooting incident on East 83rd Street, as confirmed by police

CHICAGO (WLS) — A South Side shooting left a teenage girl dead…
Father’s pursuit for missing daughter heats up with new evidence in case that’s no longer cold

Father’s pursuit for missing daughter heats up with new evidence in case that’s no longer cold

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Nearly two decades after…
Kerrville, Texas flooding: Camp girls missing after Guadalupe River flood waters hit Camp Mystic; at least 27 dead

Search Operation Underway for Missing Girls at Camp Mystic in Kerrville, Texas Following Flooding and 27 Fatalities Reported

KERRVILLE, Texas — Rescuers were searching Saturday for more than two dozen…