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The
Herald
March 20, 2003
Third arrest for false complaint
by Rosaleen MacBrayne
Tauranga detectives have now arrested three women in two weeks for falsely
complaining they have been attacked by men.
Although "very annoyed" that police time and resources had been
wasted, Detective Sergeant Todd Pearce said the CIB was pleased to be able to
reassure people there was not a serial attacker targeting women -
particularly nurses - in the city.
He stressed that victims making genuine complaints should not be put off.
Police would still investigate thoroughly.
The latest arrest came yesterday, when a 35-year-old rest-home nurse was
charged over an alleged incident on March 10.
She claimed a man had stepped in front of her car at the corner of 13th Avenue and Devonport Road
when she was driving to work shortly before 10pm. As she stopped, two other men wrenched open the
door and threatened her with a knife.
The woman told police she put her foot down on the accelerator and sped away.
Last Saturday, a Tauranga
Hospital nurse was
charged with making a false complaint. The 36-year-old had reported being
grabbed from behind in the hospital carpark on March 8.
And earlier this month a Gate Pa woman, aged 42, was accused of lying about a
late-night assault on her doorstep.
All three cases are now before the court. The maximum penalty for making a
false complaint is three months in prison or a $1000 fine.
Detectives say they have no reason to doubt the truth of another complaint by
an off-duty nurse in the Tauranga
Hospital carpark. She
was grabbed while walking to her car after a late shift on February 28, but
her screams frightened the attacker off.
A January 23 assault on a woman walking to work along Cameron Rd about 5.45am
has still to be "looked at under the microscope", said Mr Pearce.
He said it was unusual to find three unconnected false complaints over such a
short time.
The three Tauranga cases had probably taken up 80 to 100 hours of police
time, including using tracker dogs, getting photographs and taking
statements.
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