Case of mistaken identity leaves Queensland hairdresser unable to work

A woman caught up in a case of mistaken identity is hoping a trip to a Queensland McDonald's years ago can save her future.

Ipswich hairdresser Kimberly Williams is a mum with six mouths to feed.

Running her own business cutting hair for kids, people living with disabilities and seniors in aged care, she needs a blue card to work with children in her home state.

But her livelihood is hanging in the balance after she was wrongfully identified as a criminal.

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On July 19, 2022, a Kimberly Williams was charged with stalk / intimidate in St Mary's in Sydney's west.

More than 18 months down the track, Williams from Queensland received a letter from the government notifying her it would need to reassess her eligibility to hold a blue card due to the criminal charge.

A few weeks later, she got an overdue fines notice from New South Wales, hitting her with $240 in court costs.

"I can't pay my bills ...I can't take my kids to their doctor's appointments.. and like ... they've all got disabilities," Williams told A Current Affair.

Williams maintains she has never lived in St Mary's and has only ever "driven through" the suburb.

Confused and concerned, she turned detective and started her own investigation collecting pages of evidence.

"I pulled up my bank statements from 2022, and the day the crime had happened," Williams.

The transactions show that when police say Kimberly was in Sydney, she was tapping her card 900 kilometres away - visiting a McDonalds and Woolworths near her home.

Records show Kimberly Williams pleaded guilty to a charge on September 2, 2022 and was punished with a nine month conditional release order.

At that time, Queensland's Williams was still in her home state, visiting her local TAFE and IGA supermarket.

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"They're kind of saying, 'well, you're guilty'," Williams said.

"Like they're kind of not interested because I've (pleaded) guilty in court

"All the names, the birthdays, everything lines up as far as they're concerned."

Williams sent a photo of herself and her ID to NSW Police, who told her the picture on file wasn't her.

"So I've been told that there was CCTV footage of the incident happening, I've been told I turned up in court, all of it not me," she said.

"Basically the detective has to reopen the entire case. And I still have to prove my innocence."

That was going to take months, but after A Current Affair contacted NSW Police, they contacted Williams, then told us "charges were linked to the wrong profile on the police database".

"The administrative error has now been rectified..." the statement read.

"All parties involved have been advised."

While her red tape ordeal may be over, Williams said it hasn't ended without leaving a mark.

"It's affected my mental health in extreme ways." she said.

"The amount of stress that's caused."

FULL NSW POLICE STATEMENT

Officers attached to Nepean Police Area Command were advised of the issue on Thursday 16 May 2024.Inquiries revealed that a 2022 incident and subsequent charges were linked to the wrong profile on the police database.

As a result of the investigation, the administrative error has now been rectified with the record now linked to the correct person's profile.

All parties involved have been advised.