MA - Woman (Gabrielle Caughey) Charged with Making False Sexual Assault Claim

Gabrielle Caughey

Original Article

02/03/2014

By Marc Fortier

A Massachusetts woman is facing charges that she lied to police about being sexually assaulted.

Gabrielle Caughey, 21, of Mendon, MA is charged with two counts of theft by unauthorized taking and one count of false report to law enforcement. She was released on $5,000 personal recognizance bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Merrimack District Court on Feb. 25.

According to Merrimack Police, Caughey was arrested on Friday on a warrant stemming from an incident that was reported on Oct. 28, 2013. Caughey was a suspect in a theft from a residence. Upon investigating the allegations, it was found that the items in question were pawned at nearby pawn shops by Caughey.

Also during the investigation, Caughey claimed that she was sexually assaulted by a male subject. After further investigation, it was found that her allegations were false.

A warrant was later completed for Caughey's arrest and she surrendered herself to police without incident.

UK - Lincolnshire false rape claims highest in UK

Original Article

01/31/2014

The number of false rape claims made to police in Lincolnshire is higher than anywhere else in England and Wales.

New figures for the 12 months up to March 2013 show that 33 per cent of all alleged rapes against adults in Lincolnshire were later dismissed.

The report, released by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary on behalf of the Rape Monitoring Group, shows that across England and Wales the number of recorded rapes of both adults and children has steadily increased since March 2008.

There were approximately 6,000 recorded rapes of children and approximately 10,000 recorded rapes of adults in England and Wales during the 12 month period.

Lincolnshire Police received 110 reports of rape against adults, of which 36 were later declared as “no crimes”.

The force also received 98 allegations of child rape, with 19 per cent of these being declassified after investigations.

Detective Superintendent Rick Hatton, of Lincolnshire Police, said: “In Lincolnshire we are committed to investigating reports of rape and other sexual offences in thorough meticulous manner.”

“We have a specialist unit known as our ‘Emerald Team’ made up of highly trained and motivated officers and staff.”

“Thanks to the hard work put in by our partners and our own staff in the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) we are ranked number one in the country in terms of the services we commit to victim support.”

“This ‘no crime’ rate reflects our ethical recording of crime. It shows that we investigate all allegations of rape.”

“Lincolnshire Police record reported offences as early as we can. This demonstrates transparency in our investigations.”

“If it is decided that the offence has not been committed an in depth report must be submitted. This must detail all the information and evidence which verifies and supports the conclusion that the offence did not happen.”

“The report is ultimately submitted to crime management bureau supervisors trained in NCRS compliance.”

“We cannot entirely explain why the percentage of rape ‘no crimes’ in Lincolnshire is higher than in other areas but we are affected by the relatively low level of such crimes in Lincolnshire.”

“This means that small variations in numbers can make large differences in percentage terms.”
- So are you arresting the people who are making these false claims and putting them in jail / prison?

Chair of the Rape Monitoring Group, Dru Sharpling, said: “Rape is one of the most serious violent crimes and the impact on victims can be devastating.”

“It is absolutely crucial that the police and wider criminal justice system has all of the information available to ensure that victims are being believed and the police are following through investigations.”

“We will be seeking to improve on these data sets and will publish information at regular intervals to encourage and maintain performance improvements across England and Wales.”

MD - How Kirk Bloodsworth, wrongfully convicted for a crime he didn't commit, escaped death row

Original Article

01/29/2014

Kirk Bloodsworth spent two years on death row and lost a decade of his life after being wrongfully convicted and jailed for a crime he didn't commit.

The former US marine had, in just eight months, gone from an average citizen with a job and new wife to being found guilty of the brutal rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl and sentenced to death.

Despite having an alibi and not matching the police sketch issued at the time, prosecutors were determined to prove he was the man who had taken the life of an innocent girl.

Dawn Hamilton was found naked from the waist down in woodland near her Maryland home in 1984 in a crime which shocked America. She had been raped, beaten and killed.

"Witnesses described someone tall, with curly hair, a bushy moustache and tanned skin," Mr Bloodsworth said.

"I had hair as red as an apple and couldn't tan."

He remembers the shock he felt when he was arrested and how he turned around to look for someone else when police said "that's him" as he was put in handcuffs.

He also remembers the anger and disbelief he found after he was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death in Baltimore County, Maryland, the following year.

It would take almost 10 years and DNA evidence to secure his innocence and freedom.

But it wasn't until 2003 that the taunts of being a child killer finally stopped and the real offender was charged with the crime.

Speaking exclusively to news.com.au from his Maryland home, Mr Bloodsworth said he can still hear the prison doors shut if he thinks hard enough and gets chills whenever he hears metal keys jiggle.

He said he tries to put it into words what he felt when he was told he was going to die, and just can't describe it.

"I guess it's like a doctor telling you you're going to die from cancer and nine years later saying 'sorry we've made a bad mistake'," he said.

The real green mile

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UK - Woman (Jessica Gore) who made false rape claim sentenced

Original Article

01/29/2014

By Amy Woodland

A woman claimed she had been raped to cover up an affair, a court has heard.

Jessica Gore, 32, of Curtis Road in Ashford has been given an eight month suspended prison sentence after she falsely claimed she had been raped in September last year.

Gore reported the sexual assault to police on September 24.

She said a man had come up behind her in an alleyway near Curtis Road when she was on her way back from babysitting.

At the time of the claims detectives in Ashford were investigating a series of sexual assaults in the area.

Detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate took on the investigation after a description of the man given by Gore resembled an efit image issued by police.

Enquiries revealed, however, that Gore had been seeing another man and the claim of rape had been made up as an excuse to her husband for her returning home late.

A week after the complaint was made. Gore was charged with perverting the course of justice and at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday Judge Heather Norton sentenced Gore to an eight-month suspended prison sentence.

After the conclusion of the case Detective Inspector Richard Vickery said: "Kent Police takes very seriously all reports of rape and sexual assault and all are fully investigated by experienced detectives."

"In this case, the allegation of rape proved to be untrue but was not admitted until after extensive enquiries had been carried out by detectives at a time when there was understandable public concern about a number of earlier assaults being carried out in the Ashford area."

"I would echo the comments made by Judge Norton in court that this is a very serious type of offence and by its very means strikes fear into the hearts of women, undermining actual victims. Gore had lied to family, friends and the police and her deception was uncovered by the police investigation and not her own admission."

CO - Woman (Katherine Bennett) who falsely accused Windsor man of kidnapping, sex assault appears in Weld court

Katherine Bennett

Original Article

01/22/2014

The court case involving a woman who last year falsely accused a Windsor man of luring her to the Safeway parking lot along Main Street, kidnapping her at knife point and sexually assaulting her, will last for at least another two months.

A judge on Wednesday granted Katherine Bennett, 20, a two-month continuance so her attorney can further evaluate the evidence in the case, including a number of unspecified medical records.

The judge also allowed Bennett, who appeared on bond, to return to Illinois so she can be with her family and continue an undisclosed form of therapy.

Bennett, flanked by family and her attorney, declined to comment about the case outside of the courtroom.

Fort Collins authorities arrested Bennett on Dec. 10 regarding a Windsor police warrant. The woman told officers that _____ had kidnapped her from the Windsor Safeway parking lot in November, held her at knife point, took her to his home and raped her before agreeing to let her go the following morning.

Those allegations were proven untrue, according to an arrest affidavit. As a result of the false statements, _____ was arrested and jailed and has suffered great personal hardship and embarrassment, police said.

_____, who has been cleared of any wrongdoing, previously said he planned on suing Bennett and added that he lost his job at OtterBox in Fort Collins as a result of the allegations.

Bennett previously asked for her $20,000 bond to be reduced and said she had no prior criminal history or even a speeding ticket. A judge denied that request and she has since paid the bond.

Bennett is charged with attempting to influence a public servant. She remains free on bond, and her next court appearance is scheduled for March 28.

UK - (Kirsty Debanks) I'm sorry for my rape lie

Kirsty Debanks

Original Article

10/21/2013

By Ben Wilkinson

A woman jailed for making a false rape claim says the lie cost her “everyone’s respect”.

Kirsty Debanks said she was in a “bad place” when she made the allegation against her boyfriend and regretted it instantly.

The 21-year-old – who alleged _____ raped her in her home last July – urged women not to make the mistakes she did.

A council sexual abuse boss last night said false allegations can put off genuine rape victims from going to police.

After the claim, Mr _____ was arrested, interviewed and held for about six hours.

He declined to comment to the Oxford Mail last night. Debanks admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice at Oxford Crown Court in April.

Judge Ian Pringle was told friends inflicted fake injuries like scratches on her back after the group drank heavily and took crack cocaine.

But Mr _____’s alibi, that he was begging in George Street, Oxford, was confirmed by CCTV and she called police to confess on July 31. She told officers she wanted her ex-partner to “pay for everything he had done to her family”.

Sentencing her in May, the judge told her the “utter lie” had undermined real victims of rape.

Debanks – released in August from an eight months prison sentence – said: “I said it and I wanted to retract it straight away.”

“But I was too scared to because I knew it was a serious allegation. Once I said it, it was like I had to carry it through.”

The Wood Farm resident said she fell into depression after her grandfather and father passed away within months of each other.

She said: “I regret what I did and I wouldn’t advise other girls to do what I did. I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing. If I wasn’t in a bad place I would never have said it.”

She added: “I lost everyone’s respect. I didn’t really care about my friends, but my family – that hurt me. It woke me up. I am working to get it back to this day.”

“There are days when I don’t want to go out of the house because I am ashamed.”

Debanks – whose two children with Mr _____ have been taken into care – lost grandfather _____ in February 2012 and dad _____ to cancer that May.

Then her uncle, _____, was killed when he cut into an empty oil drum which exploded in College Way, Horspath, last July 27. Debanks says she suffers from depression and a multiple personality disorder.

Mother _____ said: “She has openly admitted what she said was wrong and she has apologised from the start.”

Oxford City Council domestic and sexual abuse co-ordinator Liz Jones said women who make false claims should be “ashamed”.

She said: “We struggle to get these crimes through court. When real allegations come forward they are undermined by the false ones.”

Some false claims are the result of people with mental health problems or traumatic experiences, she said.

Det Supt Nora Holford, head of Thames Valley Police’s Protecting Vulnerable People unit, said: “We treat every allegation of rape seriously and will always investigate every allegation fully.”

“On rare occasions, some allegations do turn out to be unfounded.”

The force said figures on false allegations were not available.

See Also:

• Woman jailed for false rape claim

UK - Blackburn teen’s prison hell on false rape charge

Original Article

10/10/2013

A teenager has spoken of his nine-month hell in jail awaiting trial after being accused of rape and kidnap.

_____ was freed on Tuesday after being cleared by a jury of tying a 16-year-old girl to his bed and attacking her.

The jury took just 30 minutes to clear him of four charges of rape, one of kidnap and another of imprisonment.

The 19-year-old, from Revidge Road, Blackburn, said he was abused by other prisoners and put in isolation for his own safety during his stay in HM Prison Preston.

He had been told no bail hostel could be found for him.

He said: “It was horrible. I wasn’t treated like I was innocent, I was treated like any other prisoner.”

“I got put in isolation because my name was in the paper. I was treated like I had done something wrong.”

“On the way to court I was separated in the van. The other prisoners were shouting out ‘where’s that nonce, where’s the rapist?’ I’m just happy to be out of there.”

Mr _____ was arrested last November and initially bailed to his mum’s home in Bournemouth, but he was re-arrested when it was discovered he was living with his 14-year-old sister.

He said: “The judge apologized for remanding me and said if they could find a bail hostel outside Lancashire I could stay there, but they couldn't. I’m not sure how hard they looked.”

“I can understand why the police were worried because my accuser said she was scared of me, but they could have put me somewhere in the south. I was crushed. The whole world was put on my shoulders.”

During his trial, the court heard Mr _____ stopped his motorbike when he saw the alleged victim walking near the Raj restaurant in Bolton Road, Blackburn, with two friends.

He took her to the house where his father was staying and was alleged to have attacked her. The defence said the girl had gone willingly.

Mr _____ said: “It only took the jury half an hour to call a verdict. When I heard ‘not guilty’ I was shaking and crying with relief.”

“When they said it, a few members of the jury looked at me and nodded, as if to say, ‘you’re welcome’.”

Mr _____’s grandmother, _____, called for defendants accused of sex offences to be granted anonymity until they are proven guilty, and is worried whether her grandson would ever be able to return to Blackburn.

The 60-year-old said: “The alleged victim has to remain anonymous, which is right, but so should the accused. But we got him home, and that’s the main thing.”

Sexual violence common among teens. Feeling responsible isn't

Original Article

10/07/2013

By Melissa Healy

Nearly 1 in 10 young Americans between ages 14 and 21 acknowledges having perpetrated an act of sexual violence at least once, and 4% of a nationally representative sample of American kids reported attempting or completing rape, a new study finds.

While those most likely to report initiating unwanted sexual contact in their early to mid-teens were boys, girls were among the perpetrators as the age of respondents increased. Latino and African American youths, and those from low-income families, were less likely to have coerced another person to engage in sex than were whites and those from higher-income families, the study found.

And among perpetrators of sexual violence, consumption of X-rated materials -- specifically those depicting physical harm in the context of sex -- was notably more common than it was among youths who did not report efforts to coerce or force someone else to engage in sex.

The research, published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, appears to be first to gauge how widespread sexual violence is among Americans of high-school and college age. It was based on surveys conducted between October 2010 and March 2012 with 1,058 people ages 14 to 21 who participated in a broader longitudinal study called "Growing Up With Media."

Drawing upon the U.S. Justice Department definitions of sexual violence, the authors of the latest research asked participants whether they had ever engaged in a wide range of behaviors, including kissing, touching, making an unwilling partner do something sexual or coercing or forcing someone who did not want to have sex to do so. That range of behavior might range from sexual harassment to rape, but is generally all defined as sexual violence.

In all, 8% of those responding -- 84 of 1,058 respondents -- reported they had kissed, touched or made someone else do something sexual when they knew the person did not want to (characterized as "forced sexual contact"). About 3% reported they had gotten someone else to give in to sex when the perpetrator knew the other person did not want to (characterized as "coercive sex"). Also, 3% acknowledged attempting rape, meaning that he or she had been unable to force someone else to have sex. And 2% -- a total of 18 individuals -- said they had forced another person to have sex when they knew the person did not want to, a completed rape.

Coercive tactics, including arguing, pressuring, getting angry or making someone feel guilty, were most commonly reported by those who acknowledged attempted or completed rape. And the study found that 75% of the cases of sexual violence occurred in the context of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Ten of the respondents -- just under 1% -- acknowledged having threatened or used physical force to get someone to engage in sex.

While vaginal sex was the most common form of forced or coerced sex sought, it was closely followed by oral sex.

The study also found that perpetrators of sexual violence of all types were unlikely to accept responsibility for their acts. One in seven believed that he or she was "not at all responsible for what happened," and almost 4 in 10 said they considered the victim somewhat or completely responsible for the reported incident. And only two of the respondents reported being arrested for the transgression.

The authors said that the rarity with which perpetrators either are caught or assume responsibility for their actions underscores the importance of "bystander" training and intervention in U.S. high schools and colleges. Such training emphasizes the responsibility of peers not only to discourage and prevent negative behavior within their group or community, but also to recognize, stop or report such behavior when they witness it. Widely used in anti-bullying campaigns, bystander intervention is now gaining ground on college campuses as a means of reducing sexual violence.

The study was conducted by Michele L. Ybarra of the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, CA, and Kimberly Mitchell of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center.

[For the Record, 5:42 p.m. PDT Oct. 7: An earlier online version of this story said the study was based on survey results from 1,062 people; there were 1,058 people.]