A north-east woman who made a fake rape claim was found out when she was caught on camera doing a supermarket shop.
Abbie Will told police that she had been walking beside Peterhead Academy in the days before Christmas 2016 when a man hit her over the head before sexually assaulting her.
Her claims sparked a week-long police investigation – requiring them to deploy resources including liaison officers and conduct an in-depth medical exam – while they worked to catch her attacker.
But Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard yesterday that the 20-year-old’s trail of lies began to unravel when they reviewed CCTV footage of her actions that day to back up her claims.
Instead of corroborating her serious accusations, the officers found her on CCTV shopping in the town’s Morrison’s store at the time she was supposedly attacked.
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The court was told Will had visited a police station on December 24 and told officers that she had been raped on December 22, 2016, between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, on a grassy area next to Peterhead Academy.
Officers began their investigation by checking her whereabouts at the time and found security camera footage of her walking in the direction of the school.
While this aligned with her story, they noticed she was wearing the same clothes on her return home – after her alleged assault – and that her outfit had not been handed in to check for her assaulter’s DNA.
In addition, fiscal depute Sally Macauley said officers reported that she appeared “normal and not dishevelled”.
As the sceptical investigators looked into things further, security cameras from the academy were checked to see if Will could be spotted in the area.
She was nowhere to be seen.
Police then turned their attention to other areas where she may have been, including her local Morrisons supermarket.
Ms Macauley revealed that the shop’s CCTV cameras provided the final piece of the puzzle.
She said: “The accused had entered there at around 6.29pm and left at 7.02pm.”
This meant that the man “would not have had the opportunity” to rape her as she had stated.
The officers concluded their investigation on December 30.
“Police found the allegation to be false,” Ms Macauley said.
Will admitted to wasting police time – and causing their publicly-funded resources to be diverted unnecessarily – at the sheriff court yesterday.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin released the 20-year-old, of Fordyce Avenue in New Deer, on bail to allow for the preparation of a social work report.
She has previously pleaded guilty to crimes including threatening to kill police officers and threatening to damage a police station and will be sentenced in connection with those offences at a later date.
Will also has an earlier conviction for making false emergency calls.