PA Woman Arrested For Fake Abduction Tale
By Wyatt Earp | May 28, 2009
The woman on the left is Philadelphia-area resident Bonnie Sweeten. The girl on the right is her daughter Julia. The “mother” in this case did something so despicable that it boggles even the snarkiest of minds - as it did mine. She completely wasted hours upon hours of law enforcement manpower - the Upper Southampton Police, the Lower Southampton Police, the Philadelphia Police, and the FBI - with her disgusting and disturbing ruse.
The real problem, though, is that she did an unknown amount of emotional damage to her daughter. Not just today, but for years to come.
Especially when she reads about this story in the newspaper archives.
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested Wednesday after her story about being abducted with her daughter unraveled — quickly turning from a mysterious missing persons case into a criminal investigation that ended in her capture at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando.
SHE WAS IN DISNEYWORLD? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? The news reports and the police teletype messages stated that Sweeten called 911 from the trunk of her car! We had teams of officers searching for her and her child!
Bucks County, Pa., District Attorney Michelle Henry said 38-year-old Bonnie Sweeten of Feasterville was taken into custody in Florida around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Henry said Sweeten’s 9-year-old daughter, Julia Rakoczy, was with her and is waiting in Florida for her father to meet her.
With any luck, Julia’s father will keep her far away from this deranged woman who claims to be her “mother.” No real mother would do what Sweeten did.
A security camera reportedly showed Sweeten and Rakoczy at Philadelphia International Airport, just hours after Sweeten made at least two 911 calls by cell phone saying she was locked in the trunk of a dark-colored 1990s Cadillac.
“It’s a terrifying thing for a local community to hear that allegedly two black men in a Cadillac took a woman and her daughter,” Henry told reporters at a press conference Wednesday night.
“The fact that she would accuse anybody of doing something … was a total fabrication on her part,” Henry said.
Ms. Henry was too polite to add this, but she should have ended that discussion with, “Obviously, Sweeten will be treated like any other criminal, and we will prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law.”
Investigators uncovered that Sweeten allegedly was involved in stealing about $300,000 from her former employer, an attorney in suburban Philadelphia, ABC reported. (H/T - FOXNews)
Well, with the felony theft and the false reports - plus any charges the FBI can throw at her - there should be some jail time for this animal in the future. In a perfect world, she would receive supervised visitation of her children at best, and this will play on a constant loop in her prison cell:
Bitch. I hope you rot in prison.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I’m trying to come up with something sarcastic to say, but I got nothing. It is mind boggling to say the least.
Although there is this weird thing about Disney World and some people - they feel as if it’s an entitlement. I know people who have taken their kids and grandkids out of school in order to go that pricey tourist trap in honor of a rodent. I just don’t get it.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
The only thing that comes to my mind is a paraphrase of Wyatt’s current tagline:
“Congratulations, Bonnie! You just won a trip to DisneyFist!”
Jeez…
May 28th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
She should have gone to Dollywood™, they’d never find her there. (Plus, the lines are shorter.)
When I first heard the AMBER Alert on the news, I said a little prayer. When I found out that the police found the car abandoned in Center City, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. And now to find out she made the whole thing up! There are no words.
The authorities should toss her ass in the trunk of the vehicle they use to transport her from Florida to Bucks County.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
And the gold medal in this years Women’s Extreme Stupidity event goes to . . . Bonnie Sweeten!!!
“Bonnie, you’ve just won the Gold medal. What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to Disney World! Then I’m gonna do some hard time in a state prison. Or maybe a federal one. Hell, maybe both!”
“Congratulations Bonnie, you certainly deserve it. All except the Disney World part, that is.”
May 28th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
It’s a small cell after all.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Come on, Marshall. Tell us what you really think!
(Presumably they will let her off all charges except the racism which will get her 25 years)
May 28th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Crankipants - I can see them taking a child out of school at the beginning or very end of the year. My parents did that once with me and Randal. Beats the crowds. Pretending to kidnap your kid to WDW? That’s just sick.
Wes S - A line made famous by the immortal Al Bundy.
Mrs. Crankipants - Or EuroDisney. No lines there, either.
John D - A radio report said she would be charged with a misdemeanor filing false reports. I hope that’s not true.
Doghouse - Heh.
Alan B - Good point.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
If there is justice, we can have two black officers accompany her from Flori-duh back to the region for her extradition.
The family is fortunate that she didn’t go International to some country that thumbs their noses at extradition to the US. $300K would last her a long time unless she has already spent most of it.
I prayed that this would be a hoax and my prayers were answered. The thought of an actual abduction and the possible senseless murder of two innocents gave me pause.
A portion of her restitution should be to cover the man hours necessary to investigate her claim of abduction. Then she should receive one year in prison for every half-hour spent searching for them.
Jason
May 28th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
When I first heard the reports I became sad, because all I could think about was the couple that went missing after leaving South Street a few years ago.
I was confused that there weren’t witnesses to give their accounts to reporters. There are always people wanting to flap their gums on camera.
By the next morning, I really doubted there was an abduction. Most of all, I feel so sad for that little girl (and for the family that was so distraught). Aside from all of this being the most stupid thing to do EVER, there is something not right with Sweeten and I hope she gets the help she needs while she is serving whatever punishment she gets.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
How about extradition to a country practicing Sharia law with the bomb turbaned mohammed cartoon tatooed on her forehead?
May 28th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
I hope they got to ride Splash Mountain and the Mad Tea Party.
And I’m all for pulling your kid out of school to go to on vacation; Disney World RULES!
May 29th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Wyatt: Yeah, I figured. The first time you posted the “DisneyFist” tagline, I actually heard “Al” saying it as I read it…
The “Ralph Kramden” tagline “POW! ZOOM TO THE MOON!” might also work in Bonnie’s case.
Or, at least, Schwarzenegger’s classic line from Total Recall: “Consider dis de divorce.”
May 29th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Jason - Sounds fair to me, chief.
RT - A lot of us doubted the next day, too, but we had to keep working. At least until we heard the news about the bitch.
Jon - Ooo, kinky!
Randal - I hope she got violently ill on both rides.
Wes - Before or after the gunshot to the skull?