A dishonest Hampshire man falsely claimed to have been raped in a shopping centre toilet.
Liam John Harrison Evans, 29, of Junction Road, Totton, Southampton, admitted an offence of wasting police time when he appeared at Poole Magistrates' Court on Friday, 7th July 2023.
Wasting police time is an offence under section 5(2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is 6 months' custody and/or a fine at level 4 (currently £2,500).
Shammi Duggal, prosecuting, told the court that Evans' partner contacted Dorset Police to report that he had been raped by a person known to him in the toilets of the Dolphin Centre, Poole.
In interview Evans said the perpetrator, who he was unable to describe, had approached him on a bus.
Evans also underwent a medical examination to secure any evidence of the alleged offence.
The police made inquiries with the bus operator and shopping centre, which threw up a number of inconsistencies in Evans' account.
Evans was arrested in August 2022 and admitted that he had fabricated his account.
Dorset Police said that significant resources had been allocated to the investigation of the phantom offence, at a cost of £3,611.44.
Mark Hensleigh, mitigating, told the court that his client had admitted the offence at the earliest opportunity and appreciated the severity of the matter.
He added that the man Evans false accused had never been interviewed by the police.
A pre-sentence report highlighted that Evans' deafness and developmental difficulties "significantly contributed" to the offence and his limited appreciation of the consequences.
District Judge Orla Austin was of the opinion that Evans' offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, she decided to suspend the period of custody.
Addressing Evans, DJ Austin said: "This was an investigation that involved 32 separate police officers and 102 hours of police time. It involved you making a false allegation of rape. You involved your current partner, and he made the original call.
"When you were questioned eventually you admitted you had made it up to get back at someone you were angry with on Facebook. A person who it appears had done nothing wrong."
Evans was sentenced to 12 weeks' custody suspended for 2 years, with the requirement that he completes 20 rehabilitation activity days.
He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation, £154 surcharge and £85 towards prosecution costs.
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