Teenager admits false rape claim

12-8-2009 United Kingdom:

Elgin court told of huge investigation

PREGNANT teenager’s mother said today she was mystified over why her daughter falsely claimed she had been raped at knifepoint.

Moray College student Lucinda Hicks, of 23 Kingsmills, Elgin, told officers she had been raped by an unidentified man on a pathway near Grampian Road, Elgin, on April 9.

Elgin Sheriff Court heard the false allegations resulted in Grampian Police devoting almost 800 police officer hours to the inquiry and questioning more than 300 people.

Hicks, 17, who is due to give birth early in January, admitted making false representations and causing the police to devote time and services, at the public expense, to an investigation which she knew to be false.

Fiscal depute Ann-Maria Colquhoun said Hicks was found in a distressed state by a restaurant employee. She told the court: “She asked what was wrong and the accused told her she had been raped. She also noted that the accused had cuts to the right side of her face and her lip was bleeding.”

Ms Colquhoun added after the investigation was launched, Hicks’s story was found to be inconsistent.

“She eventually admitted, during a lengthy interview, that she had lied,” she said.

Defence solicitor Alison Ross said Hicks was believed to have been suffering from depression at the time.

Hicks’s mother Ella said her daughter had suffered a miscarriage and her grandmother had died shortly before the incident.

She said she was “petrified” at the prospect of a custodial sentence.

Sentence was deferred for background reports until December 14. ..Source.. Evening Express