WOMAN AVOIDS JAIL FOR FALSE RAPE CLAIM AGAINST INNOCENT MAN
A woman from Bangor avoided immediate incarceration after making a false and malicious claim that she had been raped at a shopping center.Chantelle Clarke, residing on Pinehill Road, appeared before Downpatrick Crown Court in Belfast where she was sentenced to 12 months in prison, but the sentence was suspended for two years.
It was revealed that the man she alleged had assaulted her in the toilets of Bangor's Flagship Shopping Centre had experienced significant hardship as a consequence of her deception, including the need to relocate her residence.
Clarke’s legal representative stated that she had shown remorse regarding the repercussions of her actions and the distress caused to the man she falsely accused.
On February 14, 2017, Clarke contacted police and claimed that five days earlier, a stranger had attempted to rape her at the shopping centre.
The next day, she told officers that the incident was not an attempted assault but an actual rape.
During a recorded police interview, Clarke provided a description of her attacker that differed from the previous account she gave.
Five months later, her mother spoke to police and supplied the name of a local man whom she claimed her daughter had identified as her attacker.
Clarke subsequently spoke to police again on September 19, 2017, reiterating the same suspect’s name.
When asked why she hadn't named him earlier, she stated that he was a friend and she wanted to avoid causing him trouble.
A report from the police investigation concluded there was no evidence linking the named man to the alleged crime, leading to the case against him being dropped.
While the man accused was cleared, authorities initiated an inquiry into Clarke's false allegations, and she was charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
When interviewed by police on June 19, 2020, Clarke admitted that the man she identified had not raped her and pleaded guilty to the charges.
