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Miya Ponsetto was charged with a hate crime for assaulting and falsely accusing a 14-year-old African American boy of stealing her phone back in 2020. She recently entered a plea deal and avoided prison time.
On Monday, the Puerto Rican woman reportedly pled guilty to a felony charge of second-degree unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime. As per CBS News, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the arrangement in court:
“Ms. Ponsetto displayed outrageous behavior. As a Black man, I have personally experienced racial profiling countless times in my life and I sympathize with the young man victimized in this incident.”
He further added that the plea would ensure suitable accountability for Ponsetto and make certain that she does not repeat her actions:
“This plea ensures appropriate accountability for Ms. Ponsetto by addressing underlying causes for her behavior and ensuring this conduct does not reoccur.”
Miya Ponsetto, who has been dubbed 'SoHo Karen,' will not be subjected to jail time due to the conditions set with the plea deal. However, she is required to complete two years of probation in California, where she is already on probation for a different case.
As per the conditions of the plea deal, Ponsetto will have to continue counseling, avoid interaction with the criminal justice system and follow the terms of her probation from the other case as well.
She will be allowed to plead to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment in the second degree in exchange for a hate crime charge if she maintains the terms of her probation going ahead. However, Miya Ponsetto could be sentenced to one to four years in state prison if she fails to abide by the conditions.
Everything to know about Miya Ponsetto and her ethnic background
Miya Ponsetto is a 23-year-old woman who went viral after being condemned for assaulting an African American teenager in New York City. She reportedly hails from Puerto Rico and is currently based in California.
Ponsetto reportedly graduated from Simi Valley High School in 2016 and was a cheerleader for the institution. Prior to the assault incident, she was charged with public intoxication alongside her mother in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
In December 2020, Miya Ponsetto falsely accused 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr., son of noted trumpeter Keyon Harrold, of stealing her phone at the Arlo SoHo hotel. She then attacked the teenager and his father in the hotel lobby before her phone was found in an Uber and returned by the driver.
The incident was documented on camera and the video was widely circulated on all social media platforms. In an official statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. confirmed that Ponsetto “repeatedly attacked and dragged” the teenager during the assault:
“After making false accusations that the 14-year-old victim had stolen her cell phone, Ponsetto then repeatedly attacked and dragged him to the floor, despite attempts of numerous witnesses to intervene.”
The teenager’s family reportedly filed a lawsuit against Miya Ponsetto and allegedly accused her of “racial profiling.” However, during her controversial interview with CBS’ Gayle King, the defendant claimed that she was not capable of being racist due to her mixed ethnicity:
“I wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever. I’m Puerto Rican, I’m, like, a woman of color. I’m Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.”
Miya Ponsetto also indicated that she cannot be racist for being a “woman of color” while speaking to King. However, the latter disapproved of her agreement during the interview.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother Kat Rodriguez called out Ponsetto for her alleged "white privilege":
“This woman is a symbol of the privilege that is destroying our country. This woman is not only a racist but a menace to society… as usual it’s white privilege in America.”
However, Ponsetto continued to deny the claims of racism and even defended her actions during her interview:
“I'm sincerely sorry to the family and the dad and the son for making them feel as if I was racist. The footage shows me attacking his son, attacking him how? Yelling at him, OK, I apologize. Can we move on? Basically I'm a 22-year-old girl. I am, I don't — racism — how is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?”
In addition to her assault on Harrold, Miya Ponsetto also garnered widespread criticism for her remarks during the CBS interview. She was eventually arrested on January 7, 2021, outside her Piru residence and charged with a hate crime.
Ponsetto pled not-guilty in June 2021. However, she recently decided to enter a plea deal to avoid jail time and go with probation instead.
