Utah woman gets plea deal after pulling teen’s skirt down in viral TikTok video
Ida Lorenzo, 49, entered a plea in abeyance last week on a lesser charge of sexual battery as a class B misdemeanor in connection with the April 20 incident.
A Utah woman who went viral and was dubbed a “Karen” after she was accused of pulling down a young woman’s skirt that she found to be too short and revealing in public has entered into a plea deal on a misdemeanor sexual battery charge.
Ida Lorenzo, 49, confronted a young woman April 20 at a St. George, Utah, eatery in a spat partly caught on camera.
In the video, posted April 21, she appears to brag that she works for the state as she admonishes the young woman for her skirt.
“I happen to work for the state, and if I have to watch your ass cheeks hanging out again I will call CPS,” Lorenzo says in the clip, referring to Utah’s Division of Child Protective Services.
The video was recorded by a female in the group and captioned: “Karen gets upset my friend is wearing a mini skirt, so she aggressively grabs it, yanks it down and says ‘you’re probably underage, you probably shouldn’t be wearing that’ then causes a scene in a busy restaurant.”
In the clip, the young woman in the skirt is not visible.
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Lorenzo is seen talking to a group of the young girls who defend their friend by saying, “She’s over 18. She is 19 years old” and “You don’t get to touch her,” and urging her to call the police.
Lorenzo ended up calling St. George police on April 21, a day after the incident, after she saw the video on social media. She called dispatch saying that she holds a position with the state and that the video caused a threat on her life, according to the probable cause affidavit.
She told police that she confronted a young woman at a restaurant who was wearing “explicit clothing” that exposed her private parts with children present. Lorenzo told law enforcement that she felt it was her responsibility to address the woman and that she tried to pull the woman’s skirt down to cover “exposed genitalia,” the affidavit said.
An officer asked why Lorenzo, who assumed the young female was a minor, would find it appropriate to touch her. She responded that she never touched the woman, just her skirt. She told police that the woman and her friends recorded part of the incident and posted it to social media with the tagline of being a “Karen,” the affidavit said.
On April 22, the woman who was alleged to have been wearing the short skirt came forward to police, saying she was sexually assaulted in the lobby of a restaurant on April 20.
She said that Lorenzo confronted her while her back was turned and that without any warning, “she felt cold hands go up her skirt, touching her buttocks before she felt her skirt being pulled on.” The victim said that “she was startled by the encounter, and felt violated,” the probate cause affidavit said.
The victim and seven other witnesses came forward and filled out witness statements. The female victim said she was wearing underwear and shorts under her skirt, making it impossible to have been exposing herself.
Lorenzo was charged with sexual battery as a class A misdemeanor.
The charge was lowered to a class B misdemeanor in a plea deal filed Aug. 7, according to Washington County court records.
She entered a plea in abeyance, no contest. Under the agreement, no sentence will be imposed for a year as long as she complies with the terms — she is not allowed to commit any crimes, she may not contact the victim, and she must undergo a mental health evaluation.
Susanne Gustin, Lorenzo’s attorney, said Tuesday that Lorenzo has declined to comment on the plea agreement.
The day she was charged, Lorenzo was sent a termination letter from the Utah attorney general’s office, where she worked as a legal secretary for less than two months, Utah News Dispatch reported. The letter of termination said she had “not passed your probationary employment period successfully” and cited “your non-compliance with policies and standards related to performance,” the news site reported.
The AG’s office told NBC News in a brief statement Tuesday: “We are aware of the situation and are following AGO policies and procedures.”
Utah ‘Karen’ fired for yanking down teenage girl’s skirt in restaurant launches GoFundMe after losing her job because of scandal
By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER
A woman charged earlier this year with sexual battery after pulling down the skirt of a teenager at a restaurant has turned to drastic measures to earn money since losing her job.
Ida Lorenzo, 48, was terminated from her role Utah Attorney General’s Office on April 25 – the same day she was formally charged.
But Lorenzo has now blamed her firing on ‘circumstances beyond my control’ and in a bid to generate some extra cash, has set up a GoFundMe page in the hope of providing some form of income until she lands a new job.
‘My career and sole means of income is currently on hold for an indefinite period, and it is urgent that I reach out to try and raise funds to help support my two sons and myself during this difficult period,’ Lorenzo wrote, pleading for sympathy.
‘I’m a single mother and I’ve never asked for any help until now. My son is a suicide survivor (bullied in middle school) and I am a survivor of domestic violence. For the first time in my life, I myself could use the help. Any amount of your generosity would be so very appreciated.’
So far, Lorenzo has raised less than $500 of her $5,000 goal.
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Ida Lorenzo was charged with a Class A misdemeanor, after the skirt-pulling incident on April 20 in the lobby of a Japanese Steakhouse in St. George, Utah. A TikTok video of the altercation, filmed by one of the victim’s friends, later went viral
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Lorenzo appeared in the 5th District Court in St. George, Utah earlier this week, in what was her first court appearance since being charged with a Class A misdemeanor in April.
In Utah, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and fines of up to $2,500.
Lorenzo was captured on video at a crowded restaurant in St. George, tugging on the teenage girl’s skirt before telling her to be mindful of ‘what she was showing, especially with small kids around,’ according to a police booking affidavit.
She told officers that she pulled on the teen’s miniskirt claiming the young woman was exposing her buttocks and vagina in the lobby in front children.
During the viral, 36-second video, the young woman’s friends can be heard telling Lorenzo: ‘You do not get to touch her.’
She also appeared to flash a badge and said, ‘I happen to work for the state,’ while threatening to call child protective services.
The following day, Lorenzo was the one to call 911 to report harassment related to the unpleasant encounter.
She was charged in 5th District Court on April 25 with sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor.
Lorenzo’s employment with the Washington County office of the state AG was terminated the same day.
She had only been in the job for around six weeks, having been hired on March 4 by the office as a legal secretary.
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Lorenzo was booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane and released after posting bail. She is seen here just before her arrest. She was fired from her job the same day
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Lorenzo is seen being walked to a police car following her arrest on April 24
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Footage of the incident was posted to TikTok, garnering more than 14.5 million views
The termination letter reads: ‘I am writing to inform you that you have not passed your probationary employment period successfully and today, April 25, 2024, you are being separated from state employment with the attorney general’s office.
‘Your noncompliance with policies and standards related to performance contributed to this decision.’
According to police documents, the evening of the assault, Lorenzo approached the young woman and pulled her skirt down.
‘This caused all the people with her to accuse (Lorenzo) of sexually assaulting the female,’ read police records.
Lorenzo told authorities she ‘never’ touched the other woman’s skin, and that she had merely ‘touched the female’s skirt.’
An officer told her that she had still ‘engaged in criminal behavior by touching the female’s clothing, and her behavior was not appropriate.’
The officer explained that touching someone’s private areas was against the law even if just touching clothing.
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The incident took place in Sakura Japanese Steakhouse in St. George, Utah on April 20
Following the incident, the teenager contacted the police to report that she had been ‘sexually assaulted while in the lobby’ of the St. George restaurant.
Lorenzo had ‘confronted’ her ‘while her back was turned to her, and without any notice, or formal warning, she felt cold hands go up her skirt, touching her buttocks before she felt her skirt being pulled on,’ according to police records.
The young woman said she felt ‘startled’ and ‘violated’ by the encounter after Lorenzo came up to her without warning, pulling her skirt down from behind.
She denied that her genitals were exposed, explaining to police that she had been wearing underwear at the time.
