VA- Woman charged with filing false rape report after road rage incident

9-12-2009 Virginia:

NEWPORT NEWS — A Newport News woman has been charged with filing a false report after her original complaint sparked a police investigation into an allegation of rape, police say.

Megan McLane, 18, of Dinwiddie Place, initially complained to police that a man tried to choke and rape her. Police later learned she fabricated those statements because she had gotten into a verbal and physical altercation with another driver and she wanted to get the man in trouble, said Newport News police spokesman Lou Thurston.

The misdemeanor charge against McLane carries a fine of up to $2,500 and up to 12 months in jail, Thurston said.

"Officers met with the victim, who reported that she was stopped along the side of the road in the area of Jouett Drive when a man, unknown to her, opened the car door and attacked her, placing a cord around her neck and began to choke and beat her as he pulled her from the car toward a nearby wooded area," Thurston said.

McLane said the man continued to beat her and hold her on the ground while attempting to remove her clothing, Thurston said. She said once she was able to kick him, the assailant left.

"A large number of detectives, as well as forensic technicians, were sent to the area to begin processing the scene for any possible evidence and to canvass the neighborhood for possible witnesses," Thurston said. When McLane was confronted with the results of the police operation, she admitted to fabricating the story, Thurston said.

McLane was released from the Newport News jail with a summons. ..Source.. by Daily Press