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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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More than 20 police
took part in an operation coating $15,650 after a Darfield woman falsely
complained she had been abducted. In the Christchurch
District Court, Rebecka Zoe Gallagher, 20, admitted making a false statement
of crime. Sergeant Dave Murray
said that on July 10 police received a complaint about the alleged abduction
of a young woman. Gallagher later went to
the police, dishevelled and with cuts and grazes, saying she had been
abducted from a Darfield street, driven to a river and assaulted before
managing to escape. Twenty-five police were
mobilised in an effort to find the supposed assailant, Murray said. In the course of
three-hour video interview some inconsistencies and lies appeared, he said.
The abortive operation wasted 230 hours of police time at a cost of $15,650. Lawyer Mervyn Glue said
Gallagher was a first offender with solid family support. It appeared to be a
one-off incident. Judge Tony Couch said
it was an appalling thing to have done in terms of wasted resources. He was
prepared to deal with it by way of a community-based sentence, but the scale
merited a significant term. Gallagher was sentenced
to 150 hours community work |
