Woman hit with felony charges after failing to return 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' VHS borrowed in 1999

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

A woman has been charged with felony embezzlement after failing to return a Sabrina The Teenage Witch VHS in 1999.

Caron McBride, from Texas, had no idea that she was in trouble with the law until she recently attempted to apply for a new driving license after changing her name when she got married.

"The first thing she told me was felony embezzlement, so, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack," McBride told Fox25.

BBC News reports that she had not even watched the popular sitcom, which was rented in her name.

"Just not my cup of tea," McBride, 52, told local media.

The VHS was rented from Movie Place in Norman, Oklahoma, on Valentine's Day in 1999, but it was not returned after the agreed 10-day period.

wp-image-1263105123 size-full
Credit: Alamy / PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive

The prosecution argued that McBride "willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously embezzled" the tape, which was valued at $58.59.

Movie Place shut its doors to the world in 2008 after streaming services grew in popularity, however, McBride's criminal record from failing to return the Sabrina VHS remained.

She was informed of the felony embezzlement charge by the Texas driving licensing team after they ran a background check.

Afterward, she was told the charge "was over the VHS tape" by the Cleveland County District Attorney's office in Oklahoma.

McBride now believes the charge was unknowingly preventing her from getting jobs over the past two decades.

"It's a serious issue. It's caused me and my family a lot of heartache financially because of the positions I've lost because of those two words. Something's got to give," she told KFOR.

wp-image-1263105126 size-full
Credit: Alamy / Allstar Picture Library Ltd.

While the case has been dropped, the charges against the now 52-year-old remain.

McBride believes that the VHS was actually rented in her name by a man she was living with at the time for his young daughters, which is why she had no idea about it.

"I had lived with a young man, this was over 20 years ago. He had two kids, daughters that were 8, 10 or 11 years old, and I'm thinking he went and got it and didn't take it back or something," she told Fox25.

"I have never watched that show in my entire life, just not my cup of tea. Meanwhile, I'm a wanted felon for a VHS tape."

Even the cast of the show has been shocked by McBride's story.

Melissa Joan Hart, who played Sabrina, went on to post a shrugging emoji on social media, and Caroline Rhea, who played Hilda Spellman, wrote: "Seriously let's all sign a script for her to help her out."

Featured image credit: Alamy / Allstar Picture Library Ltd.