In a TikTok video that went viral this week, a woman who describes herself as a Utah state employee appears to justify pulling down a teenage girl’s miniskirt in the lobby of a St. George restaurant. While he threatened to call the authorities on the teenager, she is now the one facing criminal charges. Apart from the internalized misogyny that has not even taken hold.
In a video captured Saturday night inside Sakura Japanese Steakhouse, Ida Ann Lorenzo berates the teen, telling her that if she ever has to see her “teen’s butt cheeks hanging out” again, she’ll call Child Protective Services. .Equivalent of Welfare in the USA). She later complained to the police that the video of the confrontation posted on various social media platforms referred to her as “Karen”.
“Karens” are commonly called middle-aged white women in the US who go on a rampage in public places calling the police or store managers because they are offended by things or non-existent offenses. The nickname actually belies a certain pattern of behavior by privileged women, who find the right to torture workers and passers-by. It is very common for people to call the police because they saw an unfamiliar car or an African-American in their “white” neighborhoods and considered him suspicious. In some cases this has led to the killing of innocents who were visiting friends.
She was arrested as describing her actions is a crime in the US
Lorenzo, 48, is accused of sexual assault. Documents filed Wednesday in 5th District Court show Lorenzo, of Santa Clara, faces a single charge of a Class A misdemeanor. She was booked into jail but has since been released.
According to a probable cause statement, Lorenzo self-reported the incident the night it happened, telling the center that the teen had her skirt “up over her vulva and butt her”, exposing her pubic hair. Because restaurant staff and parents failed to act, Lorenzo said she “took it upon herself to pull down the teen’s skirt as there were small children.”
Later that night she called 911 again, this time saying a video of the aftermath had been posted online, along with her name, implying she had committed a sex crime. Lorenzo explained that because she holds a position with the state, she felt this was a “threat to her life,” the police report states. The report itself helps to understand the meaning of the term “Karen”.
In an interview Sunday with a St. George police officer, Lorenzo said that when she pulled down the teen’s skirt, the girl, who she believed to be a minor, ignored her, so she threatened to call Child Protective Services to file an obscenity report. report. This is consistent with what appears in the viral video, in which the victim is described as a 19-year-old. The officer asked Lorenzo why she thought it was right to touch another person. Karen responded by saying that she only touched the girl’s skirt. To this, the officer retorted that such an act was still criminal conduct and was not appropriate, the police report said.
“I’ll call the Police/Emergency”
On TikTok, the original video of the episodes has received nearly 2 million views, and police noted that the footage “clearly shows (Lorenzo) approaching the women,” touching them and threatening to call the authorities.
On Monday, the teenager whose skirt came down called the police, saying she had been sexually assaulted. She told investigators that Lorenzo came up behind her without warning, touched her bottom and pulled down her skirt. The incident left her feeling “shocked” and “violated,” the police report said. Several witnesses also filed similar reports with the police.
The teenager gave police up-skirt videos that night and explained that she was wearing underwear and that it would have been impossible for her teenager to have been exposed, as Lorenzo claimed. Before Lorenzo was arrested, he denied touching the teen’s skin and repeated that he believed the teen was naked under the skirt, the police report said. The officer told Lorenzo that even if the teen was naked under the skirt, her actions still met the criminal elements of sexual assault. He was booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane on Wednesday.
Social media videos related to the incident said Lorenzo’s social media profiles said she worked for Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. ABC4 reached out to Reyes’ office to find out if Lorenzo holds a position there, but the station has not yet received a response.
