An 18-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of wasting police time after going to police to report that she had been sexually assaulted in Swindon on Saturday.
Police immediately attended the scene and erected a large cordon on a footpath off Drake Way to preserve evidence as detectives were called in to investigate the allegation.
Following extensive enquiries by officers, the woman was arrested on suspicion of causing wasteful employment of police and committing an act/series of acts with intent to pervert the course of public justice. She has been interviewed and released under investigation while enquiries continue.
Det Chief Insp Helen Jacobs said: “We take reports of this nature extremely seriously and a large number of officers were heavily involved in conducting extensive enquiries at the weekend to identify the person involved, and manage any risk to the public.
“I fully appreciate how difficult it is for victims of genuine sexual assaults to come forward and report their ordeal to police and so incidents like this, when reports are deliberately made up, can make it even more difficult for real victims to take that step in calling police.
“I would continue to urge anyone who has been sexually assaulted to please report their concerns to police immediately on 101 or 999 in an emergency and your call will be dealt with sensitively and professionally.”
