Gloria Williams: Woman who stole newborn Kamiyah Mobley from hospital & raised her is sentenced to 18 years

The woman who abducted a newborn from a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital in July 1998 and went on to raise the girl as her own for 18 years was sentenced to prison on Friday.

Gloria Williams, 52, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a plot that involved her posing as a nurse to steal a newborn baby from University Hospital and raising her in South Carolina. The Post and Courier reported that Williams will spend a year behind bars for every year the abducted child remained missing.

After stealing the newborn, Williams took her to South Carolina, named her Alexis Manigo, and lived as her mother until 2017. Manigo now goes by Kamiyah Mobley, which is what her biological parents named her.

Florida Circuit Judge Marianne Aho said there were “no winners and no losers” in this case before imposing the 18-year sentence. Prosecutors said they’re satisfied with the sentence but noted that it was rare to have a victim who wasn’t angry at the defendant, according to WXJT.

ABC News reported that Mobley’s biological mother, Shanara Mobley, was spotted leaving the courtroom Friday with a smile on her face.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, suspicions arose when Kamiyah had difficulty obtaining a driver’s license because she did not have a Social Security card. Williams reportedly told Kamiyah of the kidnapping two years before her arrest.

READ More: Woman admits to kidnapping girl as a newborn and raising her for 18 years

Williams’ stepdaughter is believed to have tipped off the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Williams was arrested after testing showed Mobley’s DNA matched that of the missing baby.

The stepdaughter went on to tell ABC News that there was “something sneaky” about Williams.

Williams accepted a plea deal in February that took life imprisonment off the table. She will also be credited for 511 days served.

“Kamiyah is now processing what it means for the woman she’s known as [her] mother to receive an 18-year prison sentence,” the Mobleys’ attorney said in Friday’s statement.

“However, she understands Gloria had to be held accountable for her actions. She also understands that her biological parents have the absolute right to view today as a joyous day. We can only ask that everyone respect her privacy, give her time to take things in, and continue to pray for the well-being of each and every person whose life has been touched by this almost 20-year chain of events.”

[Featured image: Gloria Williams/Will Dickey/The Florida Times-Union via AP, Pool]