A woman who impersonated missing toddler online avoids jail time

A woman who set up a fake Facebook account and posed as a missing toddler has avoided any jail time.

Heidi Robinson, 40, posed online as the Katrice Lee, a toddler who went missing in Germany nearly 40 years ago.

The young girl vanished on her second birthday on November 28, 1981.

Robinson from the town of Moreton, in the UK set up the account, which included photos of Katrice and her family, and then sent a friend request to Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker in August last year.

The prosecutor, Andrew Downie told the Wirral Magistrates' Court that Walker messaged the profile and asked for it to be removed.

She also contacted the military police, who are investigating her sister's disappearance.

The court heard on Wednesday that the results from a DNA sample she gave to police confirmed that she was not Katrice.

Katrice Lee disappeared on the outskirts of Paderborn in Germany, near the British military base where her family was stationed at the time.

District Judge Nicholas Sanders said Robinson had been suffering from a mental illness when contacted the family, putting them through more "unimaginable cruelty".

Robinson was given a 18-week prison sentence suspended for two years. She was also ordered her to carry out rehabilitation activity for 40 days, with a mental health treatment requirement for 12 months

Katrice's father, Richard Lee called Robinson an "evil and wicked troll" saying "got away very lightly".

"For you this saga may end here," he said in court.

"My family do not have that luxury. Our nightmare continues, you cannot see the wounds that you have inflicted, but the scars you have left run deep."