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The Nelson Mail
May 22, 2003
Girl's abduction claim false
An 11-year-old girl falsely claimed a man tried to abduct her on the way to
school, Nelson police said today.
Police asked for the public's help on Monday after the girl reported she was
walking along Jenner Rd
between 8.30am and 8.45am when the man pulled up in a
vehicle beside her.
She said the man opened the passenger door and tried to pull her inside the
car, grabbing her left forearm and jersey, but she was able to break free and
run away.
Detective Pat Nally said he had received a call from the family today telling
him the girl's story was untrue.
It was not yet clear why she had made up the attempted abduction but Mr Nally
said he would be talking to the girl's parents who were ``very upset'' by
what had happened.
Police would not be seeking to recover costs of the investigation.
The case is the second false complaint the police have received in less than
a week.
Detective Craig Johnston said they were seeking to recover $3000 in costs
from the family of a 16-year-old Motueka girl who claimed she had been raped
by two men over the weekend.
After being reinterviewed by police she admitted she had made up the story.
Nelson Bays acting area commander Bob Burns
said unfortunately it was not unusual for the police to receive false complaints.
``People do it for a variety of reasons and for young girls it could be a
whole lot of things,'' he said.
``The 11-year-old girl had just moved to town and maybe she did not like it
but we I can only speculate - who knows, it could be a variety of reasons.
That is why we do investigations with an open mind.''
He said every case was treated seriously and anyone found to have made a
false complaint faced being charged through the court system as a deterrent
to others.
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