9th-September-2008
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 | Men's rights activist | | | |
False rape claim woman has sentence suspended | |
From 2003: False rape claim woman has sentence suspended Quote:
A WOMAN who fled to England after making a false allegation that a man had raped her in a flat in Dublin has had a 12-month sentence suspended.
Five years after her flight, Melanie Gibbons was extradited, and was yesterday sentenced to 12 months in jail by Judge Desmond Hogan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
However, she has already been in custody for six months and the judge suspended the final six months of the sentence, saying he did not intend holding her in any longer.
Gibbons (26), fled to England after failing to appear at Dublin District Court in relation to the offence in May 1998.
An extradition warrant was issued for her arrest last February and she was taken into custody by gardai at Holyhead on June 18 after spending two weeks in Holloway Prison.
Gibbons, from Hardwicke Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to making a false statement at Kevin Street garda station on December 16, 1996 that she had been raped. She has no previous convictions.
Detective Garda Garvan Ware told Caroline Biggs BL, prosecuting, that Gibbons made the complaint after meeting a man and claimed he raped her in his flat in the Dublin 8 area.
Gardai launched an investigation in which the man was interviewed. After further inquires were made, the allegations were proved to be false and Gibbons was arrested.
Det Gda Ware said there was no apparent reason for her to make up the claim but said she was suffering from depression and her mental state was not right. She later admitted she did not have sex with the man and he never forced himself upon her.
Judge Hogan, who banned any information on the man being published, said he did not intend to hold Gibbons in custody any longer and suspended the last six months of the term, taking into account that she had been in custody since the start of June.
He said: "The court should mark the seriousness of the offence. However, it did happen some time ago and I'm not aware of any serious affects that the allegation has had on the victim."
The judge added that it must have been a nightmare for the man who had false allegations made against him, but the Gibbons had apologised and had spent six months in prison.
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