Kimberley Summer Hartley, 20, has been embroiled in a court case over the alleged theft of cash and diamond jewelry
A tattooed sex worker who vanished from a Gold Coast wedding only to surface at a brothel 1,000km away is embroiled in a criminal case over the theft of cash and diamond jewelry.
‘Social media addict’ Kimberley Hartley, 20, panicked her friends earlier this month when she disappeared from Queensland and failed to respond to worried mates for more than a week.
At the same time, a warrant was issued for her arrest because she had failed to appear in court on charges she had allegedly stole $7,800 in cash, plus jewelry, from a woman’s house.
Now, in the latest twist in her saga, Miss Hartley was last week back in court trying to clear her name after she was convicted of all charges in her absence.
In court documents, police alleged Miss Hartley stole up to $8015 worth of family heirlooms – including a necklace with a blue gem pendant, diamond-studded and pearl earrings – and cash from a home in Eastgardens last December.
Miss Hartley is denying the allegations and her lawyer successfully had the convictions overturned – or annulled, in legal-speak – pending a future hearing.
But she told Daily Mail Australia outside court she fears people will still believe she is a criminal because of ‘the way I look’ – an apparent reference to her facial tattoos.
Miss Hartley made headlines after she vanished from a wedding on the Gold Coast and was found living at a brothel some 1,000km away near Wollongong, New South Wales, a week later
As she fights the charges, Miss Hartley told Daily Mail Australia outside court she fears ‘the way I look’ could make people believe she’s a criminal – an apparent reference to her tats
Speaking about her legal ordeal, she said: ‘I’m excited to see the outcome considering even the lawyers and police say that it’s all circumstantial evidence so that gives me a lot of hope’
Miss Hartley was granted bail to a Sydney backpacker’s hostel, with the requirement she reports to police on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and forfeit $1,000.
But she complained being bailed far from her home south of Sydney made her feel as if she was being forced to work as a prostitute without a break.
‘Now I’m being forced to stay in Sydney for another five weeks and work in a brothel,’ she said outside court.
‘I haven’t had a break from work in three weeks and I’m losing my mind.
‘(I don’t know) it feels like they are forcing me to continue working as a prostitute with no break, and there is literally no way out at this point.’
Miss Hartley said she was hopeful the charges would be resolved in her favour, after her bizarre ordeal this month made her feel like ‘everything exploded in front of me’.
‘I’m just very anxious, it’s easy for people to believe that I would do something horrible like that based on the way that I look,’ she said.
‘I’m excited to see the outcome considering even the lawyers and police say that it’s all circumstantial evidence so that gives me a lot of hope’.
Miss Hartley first made headlines when she disappeared off the radar for seven days following her mate’s wedding.
Miss Hartley vanished after her Gold Coast wedding – only to be found in Unanderra, New South Wales, living at a bordello
In an exclusive interview, Miss Hartley explained she simply left her phone behind at her hotel and was waiting for it to be posted back.
But her friends were deeply concerned because they knew her as a ‘social media addict’ who ‘would go without food before she went without her phone.’
A plea for help finding Miss Hartley went viral on social media, her case was written up in the national press and people discovered she was living at a bordello in Wollongong.
I feel like everything just exploded in front of me
Meanwhile, Miss Hartley thought she had changed her date in front of a magistrate at Wollongong court, but hadn’t double checked until the police came knocking.
‘It wasn’t great,’ she admitted. ‘It’s my fault for not dealing with it properly. I should have followed up with it.’
Given the extreme publicity, Miss Hartley then decided to go public with the fact she was a sex worker.
Miss Hartley – above, at the wedding she vanished from – went public with the fact she was a sex worker after the press revealed she was living at a brothel in Unanderra
‘I’m not ashamed of telling people I’m a sex worker,’ she said.
‘But I’m a pretty private person, and letting the whole world in on my biggest secret scares me.’
Ms Hartley said she had been working at brothels since she was 18 – and started because she had ‘no money and no nothing’.
‘A girl I knew was going into a brothel so I just went with her to check it out…
‘After my first pay, I knew there was no going back,’ she said.
‘I now love my job. I love being able to do what I want when I want and having as much freedom as anyone could ask for.’
Miss Hartley’s case returns to court for a hearing in November.