Plea Bargain Halts Trial of Woman Posing as Parent of Kidnapped Girl
A last-minute plea bargain cut short the trial Thursday of Nilza Gierbolini Guzman, accused of submitting a phony birth certificate to pose as the mother of a kidnapped San Diego girl.
Gierbolini pleaded guilty to a charge of submitting the birth certificate to government authorities, a felony that carries a possible nine-year prison sentence. She will be sentenced April 24.
As she left the courthouse, Gierbolini said she believed that Crystal Leann Anzaldi, whom she called Sonia, would understand she broke the law out of love for her.
Crystal’s true identity was revealed when social workers began investigating a child abuse complaint against Gierbolini. Gierbolini was never charged with abuse. She says the complaint was filed out of spite by her estranged husband.
Gierbolini raised Crystal for seven years after the girl was kidnapped as a toddler from her home in San Diego in 1990.
On Feb. 10, a judge in nearby Fajardo awarded custody of Crystal to her biological father, Jeffrey Anzaldi, who now lives in Banks, Ore.
Gierbolini said Wednesday that she would continue to try to win custody of Crystal.
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