Woman seen on viral video accosting San Jose father and child is charged with stalking, hate crime

A woman who was arrested last week after a viral video of her accusing a father of trafficking his own daughter while they went for a walk in their South San Jose neighborhood was charged with felony stalking and hate crime allegations on Friday, prosecutors said.

Lindsay Georgeanna Hansen was also arraigned in an unrelated case in which she allegedly threatened to kill a former employer and their children in March, for which she was out on bail at the time of the second incident, according to court records.

Hansen was charged Friday with one count of felony stalking by repeated following or malicious harassing, with additional allegations of committing a hate crime and being out on bail at the time, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The case alleges that Hansen followed a father and daughter and “falsely (accused) the father of sex trafficking his child due to differences in the color of their skin” on Sept. 6, said Britlyn McCormick, deputy district attorney at the Santa Clara County DA’s Office, the prosecutor assigned to the case.

The hate crime allegation comes into play when a charged action is motivated by hate against a particular group, compared to a standalone hate crime charge that requires a “use of force or fear” to intimidate or threaten a person exercising a right or privilege, McCormick explained.

“In this case, there was a perception that the victim — the father in this case — was not of the same identity or did not have business affiliating with his daughter based on his appearance,” she said.

Madelyn Roderigues, Hansen’s defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

In a 44-second video posted to social media, Hansen drives next to the father and his six-year-old daughter as they walk on a sidewalk and claims to “work with the feds.”

“That’s a white little girl and you are a man of color,” she says in the video. “I believe you are either buying or selling or trafficking this child.”

According to the police report, Hansen approached the father and daughter three different times. Her comments to the pair allegedly also included asking “are you buying or selling?” and “are you legally in this country?” She asked the child, “do you need help?” police added.

At the Friday hearing, Hansen was also arraigned on a felony charge of threatening a crime resulting in death or great bodily injury and misdemeanor charges of threat to injure by telephone and using an electronic communication device with the intent to annoy, McCormick said. That case was filed in July related to an alleged incident that occurred in March.

Hansen allegedly made a social media post threatening to kill a former employer and her children, according to a police report.

She also allegedly knocked on the front door of the former employer, who had not been in contact with her since 2024, police added. The victims had employed Hansen as an in-home massage therapist between 2022 and 2024, according to civil case filings seeking a harassment restraining order.

Hansen was arrested in the first case in August, McCormick added. She was released on $20,000 bail, according to court records.

At the hearing on Friday, the court also granted the prosecution’s request to deny Hansen bail, McCormick said. She remains in custody and will next appear in court on Sept. 29 to enter pleas in both cases. The court also put in place a three-year criminal protective order for the adult victim, according to court records.