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Woman accused of posing as social worker, attempting to kidnap newborn

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Police in California have arrested a 38-year-old woman suspected of posing as a social worker and attempting to kidnap a newborn in Santa Ana last week.

The woman, who was not identified, turned herself in to authorities after reports of the incident surfaced Friday, according to KTTV and the Santa Ana Police Department.

Police said the woman showed up at a home in the 2300 block of South Evergreen Street around 11:30 a.m. Friday and claimed to be from social services, the Los Angeles Times reported. She told the mother of a child born less than two weeks ago that she had to take custody of the newborn, but she had no identification to verify she was from social services, police spokesman Anthony Bertagna told the Times.

The mother, who was not identified, told KTLA she was suspicious the moment the woman came to her door.

“I told her, ‘If the sheriff comes and he has to arrest me, then he can arrest me, but I am not going to give you my child,’” she told the news station.

After police verified that county social services had no open case involving the mother, police shared a photo of the suspect with news outlets Friday, the Times reported. She turned herself in around 6 p.m. that night.

Bertagna told KTLA that it's not standard procedure for social workers to show up at homes without credentials to prove their status as government employees.