Texas woman who snatched daughter from local school in custody dispute sentenced
INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - A Texas woman who snatched her daughter from a Thousand Palms elementary school in a custody dispute with the girl's father was sentenced today to three years of felony probation.
Sara Lee Almodovar, 39, pleaded guilty last year to child stealing and assault on a school employee in connection with the 2021 abduction.
During a hearing at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini imposed the stipulated sentence. In addition to probation, the judge ordered Almodovar to serve four days in jail, though it was unclear whether the defendant would spend any actual time behind bars due to prevailing capacity constraints throughout the county correctional system.
He further ordered that Almodovar complete 60 hours of community service, enroll in a treatment program to manage her emotions and take part in a parenting program to ensure appropriate contact with her child in the future.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Ternes, on the afternoon of Aug. 27, 2021, deputies received a report from the victim's father, who had sole custody of her, that the biological mother, with whom he had broken off relations, had forcibly taken the child from Lindley Elementary School near the intersection of Robert Road and La Canada Way.
Ternes said Almodovar engaged in a brief struggle with a campus supervisor, then fled the location with the child, whose identity was not disclosed, using a rental car later spotted in a parking lot at Palm Springs International Airport, where the defendant had changed vehicles, driving away with her daughter in a Chevrolet pickup truck.
The California Highway Patrol was able to confirm the pickup's license plate, and an Amber Alert was broadcast throughout California and neighboring states.
The defendant was pulled over hours later in Parker, Arizona, where she was taken into custody without incident.
Law enforcement officials quickly arranged reunification between the girl and her dad.
Almodovar had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
