Woman jailed for 5 years after making TEN false rape claims against two men leading to 60 investigations
ESSEX, UK: A woman from Essex who claimed she had been raped numerous times by two different men have been jailed for five years after it was revealed she had lied. In January and May 2021, Cathy Richardson, 35, made a number of accusations against two men, leading to officers from Essex Police carrying out 60 investigations. One of the persons she accused was arrested and subjected to a forensic examination as part of these investigations.
However, as police looked into Richardson's accusations, they discovered that evidence from CCTV, phone records, and automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras indicated the accused attacker was not there when the alleged assaults occurred. Even more, one of the men agreed to have a GPS tracking tag attached to his ankle that would alert police if it were damaged or removed. When the tag's data was analyzed, it was discovered that he had not been present when Richardson claimed the attack had occurred.
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Richardson was taken into custody on May 28 last year and later charged with tampering with evidence. She pleaded guilty to 10 offenses in May at Salisbury Crown Court and was given a five-year, one-month prison term on Friday, September 30. Det Insp. James Holmes, who oversaw the investigation told Daily Mail, “Whenever an allegation of rape or sexual assault comes to us, our starting point is to believe the person making that claim. They are awful offenses and have a massive impact on those who’ve experienced them, and we have specialist officers and staff who support them and investigate.”
“To begin with, Cathy Richardson’s claims were no different and we carried out our inquiries with compassion and empathy. However, it quickly became clear the allegations Richardson had made were not what they seemed. Her claims do a great disservice to victims of rape and sexual assault who need our help and support. They have had a huge impact on the lives of the two men she had accused,” Holmes added.
He went on to say, “Her allegations led to a significant number of investigations which for our officers, taking up a huge number of time and resources which we would have preferred to have directed towards helping genuine victims who really do need us. I sincerely hope this case does not put off victims of rape and sexual assault, who really need our help, from reporting offences to us. I want to reassure you that you will be believed, we will support you, and we will investigate what has happened.”