Alabama woman who faked kidnapping pleads guilty to false reporting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama woman who faked being abducted after stopping her car to check on a toddler wandering along a highway has pleaded guilty to charges of giving false information to law enforcement. News outlets report that Carlee Russell pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges of false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident. She was given a six-month suspended sentence, meaning she will serve no jail time. Her two-day disappearance, and her story of being abducted alongside an interstate highway, captivated the nation before police called her story a hoax. Her attorney issued a statement through police acknowledging there was no kidnapping and that she never saw a toddler.