‘Karen’ in viral video facing sexual battery charge for pulling down teen’s skirt in Utah restaurant
ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — In a TikTok video that went viral this week, a woman who describes herself as a Utah state employee can be seen justifying pulling down a teenager’s mini skirt in the lobby of a St. George restaurant. While she threatened to call authorities on the teenager, she is now the one facing criminal charges.
In the video recorded Saturday night inside Sakura Japanese Steakhouse, Ida Ann Lorenzo reprimands the teenager, telling her that if she has to watch the teen’s “a** cheeks hanging out again,” she’ll call Child Protective Services. She later complained to police that video of the confrontation posted across various social media platforms labeled her a “Karen.”
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Lorenzo, 48, is charged with sexual battery. Documents filed Wednesday in 5th District Court show Lorenzo, of Santa Clara, is facing a single count of the Class A misdemeanor charge. She was booked into jail, but has since been released.
According to a statement of probable cause, Lorenzo reported the incident herself the night it happened, telling dispatch that the teenager had her skirt “hiked above her vagina and butt,” exposing her pubic hair. Because restaurant staff and parents didn’t act, Lorenzo said she took it upon herself to pull the teen’s skirt down, as young children were present.
Later that night she called 911 again, this time saying that a video of the aftermath was posted online, along with her name, insinuating that she committed a crime that was sexual in nature. Lorenzo explained that because she holds a position with the state, she felt this was a “threat on her life,” the police report states.
In an interview with a St. George police officer Sunday, Lorenzo said that when she pulled down the teenager’s skirt, the girl whom she believed to be a minor ignored her, so she threatened to call Child Protective Services to file an indecent exposure report. This is consistent with what appears in the viral video, in which the victim is described as a 19-year-old.
The police officer asked Lorenzo why she thought it was appropriate to touch another person. She responded saying that she only touched the girl’s skirt. To this, the officer said that such an act was still criminal behavior and not appropriate, the police report states.
On TikTok, the initial video of the aftermath has received nearly 2 million views, and police noted that the footage “clearly showed [Lorenzo] approaching the females,” touching them, and threatening to call authorities.
On Monday, the teenager whose skirt was pulled down called police, saying she was sexually assaulted. She told investigators that Lorenzo came up behind her without warning, touched her buttocks, and pulled down her skirt. The incident left her feeling “startled” and “violated,” the police report states. Several witnesses also filed similar reports with police.
The teenager provided police with video of herself in the skirt that night, and she explained that she was wearing underwear and that it would have been impossible for her pubic hair to have been exposed, as Lorenzo claimed.
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Before Lorenzo was arrested, she denied touching the teen’s skin, and she repeated that she thought the teen was nude underneath the skirt, the police report states. The officer told Lorenzo that even if the teen was naked under the skirt, her actions still meet the criminal elements of sexual battery. She was booked Wednesday into the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane.
Videos on social media related to the incident said Lorenzo’s social media profiles said she worked for Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. ABC4 has reached out to Reyes’ office to verify if Lorenzo holds a position there, but the station has yet to hear back.
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