LYNDEN, Wash. — On October 11th, an arrest warrant was issued out of Whatcom County Superior Court for Merissa Gabriela Saenz, age 25 and of Ferndale, after probable cause had been developed to arrest her and charge her with gross misdemeanor malicious prosecution along with felony malicious prosecution and perjury.
The charges are the result of accusations of child abuse made by Saenz since 2022 against her estranged husband and father of her 2 children. Accusations would follow times when the children had been visiting their father.
Repeated trips to PeaceHealth St Joseph Medical Center resulted in no evidence of abuse. In at least 1 instance, the children underwent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) kit examinations with no evidence of a sexual assault found.
Saenz was able to get a temporary no contact order issued against the father in 2022 but a request for a full order was denied by the court.
The affidavit of probable cause filed with the court details a dozen instances where the reported abuse was investigated but no probable cause was found to charge the father. The years of reportedly unfounded accusations were deemed an attempt to cause the father to be arrested for a crime of which he is innocent.
Whatcom County Jail records show Saenz was arrested and booked into the jail by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office today, October 22nd, with no current option for bail.
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