Phony Katrina Victim Must Atone In Public

MASON, MI - Kim Horn will have to stand in front of hundreds of students, telling them how she cheated her community.

She can't own a cell phone because the one she accepted as a gift was based on a lie.

And she must clean up the house where she lived while she abused the kindness of strangers.

"Get your rubber gloves and get prepared," Ingham County Circuit Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson told the Mason woman Tuesday.

Horn, 42, was sentenced for lying about being a Hurricane Katrina victim last year after she came back to Mason, her hometown.

People responded by showering her and her 6-year-old daughter with gifts, money - even a place to live.

Horn, who lied for a front-page State Journal story featuring her as a Katrina survivor, blamed her actions on having fled an abusive relationship.

"I was upset," Horn told the judge. "I had no place to live."

Nettles-Nickerson told her she has to take responsibility for what she did: "You started the ball rolling."

Horn, who pleaded guilty to larceny under false pretenses, faced up to five years in prison.

The judge sentenced her to time served in jail: 279 days. Horn left the courtroom a free woman with many restrictions.

Among them:

? She must be on probation for three years.

? She must speak at every Mason school, admitting what she did and explaining what she learned from it. Nettles-Nickerson ordered her not to mention that she fled from an abusive relationship nor to blame her behavior on that in any way.

? She must pay restitution of $4,144 to the city of Mason and $217 to the American Red Cross, in addition to fees and fines during her probation.

James White, Horn's attorney, said the sentence was appropriate.

He said Horn will now get a job and work to be reunited with her daughter, who has been living with relatives.

Horn had relocated from Louisiana last year, but she didn't live near a hurricane-ravaged area.

Prosecutor Nick Bostic said Tuesday that there are plenty of services in the area for women seeking refuge from abusive relationships.

"Battered women do not need to pretend to be hurricane victims to get assistance," he said.

Mason City Administrator Martin Colburn said he is satisfied with Horn's sentence.

"Hopefully, this is a message and a deterrent to those who have considered defrauding us in the future," he said. "We hope that she stands to her obligation."

Sentence Kim Horn's three-year probation requires her to:

? Speak to students at all Mason public schools about her poor judgment.

? Send apology letters to the State Journal and other local newspapers for the community to read.

? Perform 1,000 hours of community service; at least 10 hours a week must be for the city of Mason.

? Pay $4,361 in restitution, plus fees during probation.

? Get a job working at least 30 hours a week.

? Clean up the house where she lived, which belongs to the city of Mason.

? Return all donated items in excellent condition.

? Not own a cell phone.

Contact Jen Marckini at 267-1301 or jmarckini@lsj.com.