Woman jailed for over five years for making 10 false rape claims against two different men who were able to prove they weren’t even in the area
- Cathy Richardson, 35, from Essex, made 10 false rape claims against two men
- He admitted perverting the course of justice and spent more than five years in jail
- The claims led to 60 police investigations, and the men were later found not to be in the area.
- Police said it had a ‘huge impact’ on the men and has done the actual victims a ‘disservice’.
An Essex woman made 10 false rape claims against two men which led to 60 police investigations, ultimately determining the men were not in the area at the time.
Cathy Richardson, 35, of Westcliff, made a series of accusations against two men between January and May 2021 and has now been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Essex police chiefs criticized his actions, which they say had a “major impact” on the lives of the men he charged and resulted in a waste of police time and resources.
The police added that their false accusations have also caused “great harm” to real victims of sexual crimes.
Cathy Richardson, 35, of Westcliff, made a series of accusations against two men between January and May 2021 and has now been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Richardson’s accusations prompted officers to conduct 60 investigations, and one of the men he accused was arrested and forced to undergo a forensic exam.
As officers furthered their investigations into Richardson’s claims, they discovered that CCTV, phone data, and information from automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras showed that the suspected shooter was not in the area at the time Richardson alleged that the attacks occurred.
One of the men even agreed to have a GPS tracking tag placed on his ankle that would send an alarm to the police if it was destroyed or removed.
On several occasions, the tag data was analyzed and showed that he was not in the area when Richardson said the attack occurred.
Richardson was arrested on May 28 last year and later charged with perverting the course of justice.
She admitted 10 charges at Salisbury Crown Court and, on Friday, was sentenced to five years and one month in prison.
Detective Inspector James Holmes, who led the investigation, said: “Whenever we get an allegation of rape or sexual assault, our starting point is to believe the person who makes that claim.
“These are horrific offenses and have a massive impact on those who have experienced them, and we have dedicated officers and staff supporting and investigating them.
“For starters, Cathy Richardson’s claims were no different and we conducted our investigations with compassion and empathy.
“However, it quickly became clear that the allegations Richardson had made were not what they seemed.
“Your statements do a great disservice to victims of rape and sexual assault who need our help and support.
And they have had a great impact on the lives of the two men he had accused.
Richardson admitted 10 counts of perverting the course of justice in Salisbury Crown Court and was sentenced on Friday to five years and one month in prison.
“His allegations led to a significant amount of investigation that, for our officers, consumed a great deal of time and resources that we would have preferred to be directed to helping real victims who really need us.
“I sincerely hope that this case does not discourage rape and sexual assault victims, who really need our help, from reporting crimes to us.
“I want to assure him that he will be believed, we will support him and we will investigate what happened.”
An Essex Police spokesman added that the force was “dedicated to tackling violence against women and girls in Essex”.
They said: ‘We have dedicated officers throughout the county, whether they specialize in investigating sexual or domestic abuse, offer a uniformed response to immediate reports of violence, or officers and staff members who are on the other end of our 999 calls.
‘They work together to reassure and protect victims and bring violent perpetrators to justice.
“We know that there are some people who are not comfortable reporting crimes to the police, and it is up to us to earn and maintain their trust.”
