Ann Pettway sentenced to 12 years for kidnapping Carlina White in 1987

Ann Pettway

"Kidnap Mom" Ann Pettway was sentenced to 12 years in prison today for snatching an infant girl from Harlem Hospital 23 years ago.

Manhattan judge Kevin Castel sentenced Pettway, 50, for the 1987 kidnapping of Carlina White as White's parents, Joy White and Carl Tyson, watched from inside the courtroom.

Castel cited "the nature of the crime and the pain it caused" when announcing the sentence, but admitted that it was below both his calculated guidelines and the 20-year term the government was looking for.

During the sentencing, Pettway and Tyson exchanged glaring looks in one of the more dramatic moments of the hearing.

"I've been suffering for the past 23 years," Tyson said. “I wanted to reach over there and really strangle her to be honest with that’s the way I felt.”

Tyson was disappointed in the sentencing.

“The judge didn’t have [any] sympathy," Tyson fumed. "If this had happened to the judge, how would he feel. I would have been a little happier with the 240 months. I’m not too cool about it but what can I do.”

White's mother, Joy, expressed the heartache the endeavor has had on her.

“I’m broken into a million pieces,” White said. “I continue to ache for my daughter every minute of every day all because she decided to kidnap my baby.”

A remorseful Pettway apologized in front of the court, but acknowledged that she may never receive forgivness from Tyson or White.

"I am deeply sorry for what I have done," a soft-spoken Pettway said. "If they don’t accept it, it’s understandable. I’m here today to right my wrong."

Earlier in the day, Tyson had expressed his desire to watch Pettway's sentencing in person/

"I've been waiting for this day," Carl Tyson told The Post. "I hope she gets 23 years for the time she took from me."

But Tyson added: "I'll never get back what was taken from me. I'm not really going to get what I want because I can't get back the time I lost."

Defense lawyers said last week that Carlina White, 24, "has declined to speak with either defense counsel, the government or the probation department," adding that she "has a movie project in the works, and refuses to be involved in any way in the criminal case."

White was re-united with Tyson and her real mom, Joy, last year after tracking them down through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.