Rape is such a heinous crime that women who falsely report being raped should face serious consequences.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A woman who told police she was raped and beaten in a restroom at Assembly Hall but later said she made up the story has been charged with false informing, authorities said.IU student Mary E. Bray, 19, reported the assault to staff members at Bloomington Hospital, where she was taken after IU police cited her for illegal possession of alcohol during an IU-Purdue basketball game on Feb. 22.
Authorities on Tuesday included a charge of misdemeanor false informing, court documents said. A police investigation into the reported rape revealed a "time line which does not offer the opportunity for this crime to have occurred," court documents said.
IU police had said they believe the woman made up the story because she was drunk.
Miss Bray didn't falsely accuse a specific person, so I suppose that charging her with a misdemeanor is sufficient. If she had pointed a finger at someone and purposefully lied then I would support a punishment for her equivalent to that faced by rapists.
For instance, if Michael Jackson's accusers are found to be lying, then they should be punished severely via criminal prosecution. Now, Mr. Jackson may be acquitted because the charges cannot be proven to be true, but that alone wouldn't be sufficient to prove that his accusers were maliciously lying. If, however, the prosecutor does believe the accusers made false accusations (rather than simply unprovable ones), he should bring charges against them and try to prove it in court.
