Suspended sentence and fine for student who made 'wicked' false rape claim

RobYourBuilder

A Brazilian student has been given a three-month suspended sentence and a €600 fine for an “elaborate hoax” in which she claimed she had been raped by two men in Dublin.

Thais Regina De Oliveira, 21, who had been residing with her boyfriend and other flatmates at Cabra Park in Dublin, pleaded guilty today to making a false statement to officers at Mountjoy garda station on August 25 last.

She claimed two men attacked her and gave a detailed description leading to a 12-day manhunt, a photo-fit being distributed and technical examinations.

At Dublin District Court, Judge Anthony Halpin described her crime as wicked, heinous and depraved and he said these offences deter real victims from coming forward. However, he ruled that a jail sentence was not appropriate in this case.

He also praised the “outstanding work” of Det Garda Kevin Keyes and his colleagues at Mountjoy Garda station saying their response to the incident sets a precedent for other police forces.

The student's lies came after she had been under financial pressure to pay her way and she pretended she had found a job. Her lawyer said she really spent some nights “wandering the streets” having let on she had gone to work, but on the night of the offence, it had been raining heavily and she needed an excuse to go home.

The English language student could not tell her friends she had been robbed because she had already left her phone and her wallet in the house, so instead she inflicted injuries on herself and told her friends that she had been raped.

Defence counsel Keith Spencer said that she not intended for gardaí to become involved.

However, once her friends heard her story, “the genie was out of the bottle” and they alerted Mountjoy garda station who dispatched officers within five minutes.

In evidence, Det Gda Kevin Keyes told Judge Halpin he received a report to go to a flat in Cabra where he met De Oliveira.

“She alleged that she had been assaulted, dragged down a lane-way at Cabra Park and subsequently raped,” he said. She claimed she had been on her way to work in a pub in Temple Bar when she passed three males who engaged her in a brief conversation.

She claimed that two of them dragged her down the lane and raped her. She had left her shoes and leggings at the scene and alleged to gardaí that her underwear was taken by the perpetrator.

Following her claim, she was brought to a sexual assault treatment unit. It emerged two days later that the pub where she claimed to work did not exist. She brought gardaí to Temple Bar and pointed out a bar where she said she was employed but “the manager never heard of her”.

She had already given a “detailed description” of one of the perpetrators and a partial description of the second, which was passed on to Garda HQ where experts compiled a photo-fit. This was circulated to all garda stations.

Det Gda Keyes said a public appeal was made through the garda press office and this generated significant media coverage, in Ireland, the UK and also in Brazil.

Apology

After 12 days of investigation in which more than 140 lines of enquiry were conducted and various offices, including the forensic science laboratory, got involved, “she admitted to investigating gardaí that in fact she had lied”.

Though no one was arrested or charged, some men had been asked to account for their whereabouts, the court heard.

De Oliveira, who remained silent during the hearing, was apologetic, Det Gda Keyes also said.

The authorities are also planning to deport the student who came to Ireland in April, the court also heard. A representative from the Brazilian consulate and the student's mother were present for the case today.

Mr Spencer BL told the court that De Oliveira had been abused when she was 12 but never got proper medical assistance and her mother believed “that manifested itself in some form in this allegation.”

He said that within a short time, cracks started to emerge in her story.

Mr Spencer said “one lie led to another” and that when she told her friends she had been raped, “it snowballed out of control, she did not know how she could stop it.”

He argued that society would not gain from her being imprisoned and he asked the court to note her young age, and that she suffered a shock by spending five days in prison remand.

He argued that her description was so detailed, including claims the perpetrator had a scar on his hand, that “save for some unholy co-incidence it could not never have resulted in the prosecution of anyone for these offences.”

Judge Halpin said the young woman, who is from a rural area in Brazil, was immature and came from a good family but what she had done was “outrageously wicked”.

“False statements undermine investigative processes and judicial processes,” said the judge, adding that this was not a victimless crime. He said it was heinous offence, “which could put women off coming forward to report rapes or acts of violence for fear that they would not be believed”.

False rape claims also make it more difficult for real victims to be believed in court, he said.

However, he said that he did not believe a custodial sentence was appropriate.

He fined her and imposed the three-month sentence but suspended it on condition she does no re-offend in the next two years.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/suspended-sentence-and-fine-for-student-who-made-wicked-false-rape-claim-650224.html

A free flight home, a three month suspended sentence and a €600 fine. Is that sufficient? I don't think that it is. She should at least be made pay back the costs of the Gardai investigation. Crap like this makes it more difficult for real victims of sexual assault to come forward. It's disgusting to lie about such a thing.

Especially considering this;

Previously, the court heard it was alleged Ms de Oliveira persisted with her rape claim for 12 days and identified a man she had met.

During her bail hearing, the court was told the accused allegedly wasted “considerable” garda resources in her claim and officers “came close” to making an arrest before she made admissions.

Bail was granted in her own cash bond of €1,000 cash.

During that hearing, Det Gda Chris Cahill said the alleged report led to a major investigation and only after 12 days, and “significant cost in terms of time and resources.”

“The sinister element of the (alleged) crime is that a person she alleged committed the act was an actual real person that she had encountered,” he said

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/face-of-woman-accused-of-making-false-rape-claim-30593865.html

Some innocent chap was very close to being pulled in and arrested under suspicion of rape. That in itself, could have ruined his life.

Thoughts?

How Soon Is Now

She should get in serious trouble for this!
The damage it could do to someone's life to be accused of this its not first time it's happened and it's unfortunately something that can get thrown around these days against men.

What I will say though is I hope this thread doesn't go down the route it possibly could and people can just discuss the topic and not get into another battle of the sexs throwing insults around!

Macavity.

It's ridiculous, obviously the sentence should be a lot harsher. Matches the lenient sentences for rape/assaults/robbery etc... generally given out in this country. I don't know what there is to discuss at this stage, there's been so many threads on this sort of thing.

DarkJager

She could have destroyed some guys life and reputation but only gets what is essentially, a slap on the wrist? Disgusting. She deserves at least 5 years.

fits

What happened that dude with the false kidnapping claim. The developer?

suicide_circus

How dare you OP! This is the kind of increasing misogynistic vitriol that makes female posters afraid to browse After Hours alone at night. Shame on you.

Gatling

fits wrote: »

What happened that dude with the false kidnapping claim. The developer?

Still before the courts

RobYourBuilder

fits wrote: »

What happened that dude with the false kidnapping claim. The developer?

What has that got to do with the subject at hand? If you're really interested, fire up a thread on the matter.

Gatling

DarkJager wrote: »

She could have destroyed some guys life and reputation but only gets what is essentially, a slap on the wrist? Disgusting. She deserves at least 5 years.

It would be a waste of a sentence if assaults and sexual assaults regularly receive suspended sentences

downonthefarm

She's obviously in need of serious psychiatric help.
The poor girl.dont think she's going to get it in prison.

shruikan2553

This is why people accused of crimes like this should have their identity hidden until proven guilty.

Just to clarify I mean people accused of rape, in this case some men only had to explain where they were but often this sort of thing is aimed at particular people who have their names in the media and then turns out they're innocent.

Bhopkov

DarkJager wrote: »

She could have destroyed some guys life and reputation but only gets what is essentially, a slap on the wrist? Disgusting. She deserves at least 5 years.

She deserves to be punished for wasting police time and resources, 5 years is far too severe given no one was realistically at risk of being falsely convicted of rape.

fits

RobYourBuilder wrote: »

What has that got to do with the subject at hand? If you're really interested, fire up a thread on the matter.

because they are both being charged for the same crime, I.e. wasting Garda time.

Gatling

shruikan2553 wrote: »

This is why people accused of crimes like this should have their identity hidden until proven guilty.

Because innocent till proven guilty .

And sexual based crimes give anonymity to the victims

Soft Falling Rain

"Society wouldn't gain from her being imprisoned." Lawyers, there's not a yarn that can't be spun.

hfallada

What putting her in prison going to do other than creating a bill for the tax payer? Send her home and dont give her a visa to come her again. With the extremes that she went to lying and covering up her job. She needs help and wouldnt find it in a prison.

Summer wind

What a stupid girl. How on earth did she think she could get away with that. And she's 21 which is plenty old enough to be accountable for her actions. She should be made to work somewhere to pay back the cost of the investigation. She could have got an innocent man in very serious trouble.

RobYourBuilder

downonthefarm wrote: »

She's obviously in need of serious psychiatric help.
The poor girl.dont think she's going to get it in prison.

If her lies didn't fall asunder, some innocent chap would have been arrested under suspicion of rape. Imagine sitting in a jail cell, accused of rape, looking at serious time and all because of someones lies.

Poor girl, indeed.

irishgrover

RobYourBuilder wrote: »

What has that got to do with the subject at hand? If you're really interested, fire up a thread on the matter.

I'm guessing the poster thinks there are similarities in relation to alleged making up of stories, wasting Garda time, making false stories, causing manhunts etc. Personally it seems reasonably similar to the subject at hand, with the obvious exception that one claimed being held against their will and sexually assaulted, the other claimed be held against their will and physically assaulted......similar enough circumstances to make a connection and ask a question without being told to feck of in so many words...

RobYourBuilder

Bhopkov wrote: »

She deserves to be punished for wasting police time and resources, 5 years is far too severe given no one was realistically at risk of being falsely convicted of rape.

Really?

Previously, the court heard it was alleged Ms de Oliveira persisted with her rape claim for 12 days and identified a man she had met.

During her bail hearing, the court was told the accused allegedly wasted “considerable” garda resources in her claim and officers “came close” to making an arrest before she made admissions.

Bail was granted in her own cash bond of €1,000 cash.

During that hearing, Det Gda Chris Cahill said the alleged report led to a major investigation and only after 12 days, and “significant cost in terms of time and resources.”

“The sinister element of the (alleged) crime is that a person she alleged committed the act was an actual real person that she had encountered,” he said

Beaner1

She should be genuinely raped for that. She won't be making little of that particular crime then in future.

BANNED

Gatling

Beaner1 wrote: »

She should be genuinely raped for that. She won't be making little of that particular crime then in future.

Seriously WTF

This isn't isis and taliban land

How Soon Is Now

Beaner1 wrote: »

She should be genuinely raped for that. She won't be making little of that particular crime then in future.

Ffs.

Soft Falling Rain

Beaner1 wrote: »

She should be genuinely raped for that. She won't be making little of that particular crime then in future.

Oh you.

One eyed Jack

RobYourBuilder wrote: »

If her lies didn't fall asunder, some innocent chap would have been arrested under suspicion of rape. Imagine sitting in a jail cell, accused of rape, looking at serious time and all because of someones lies.

Poor girl, indeed.

None of that actually happened in this case though.

You take offence to someone making stuff up, then go making stuff up to say she should have received a sentence for something that didn't happen?

The sentence she received was appropriate, and as for a "free flight home", I'm sure you understand the difference between that, and deportation.

KERSPLAT!

MOD

Beaner banned, move on please and thanks

Donkey Oaty

There should be special wing in the prison forum for sex offenders.

Arne_Saknussem

One eyed Jack wrote: »

None of that actually happened in this case though.

You take offence to someone making stuff up, then go making stuff up to say she should have received a sentence for something that didn't happen?

The sentence she received was appropriate, and as for a "free flight home", I'm sure you understand the difference between that, and deportation.

So you're comparing him envisaging what might have happened to the person the police admitted they were "very close to arresting" with her claims that a real person she had encountered had raped her.

They're both the same are they, those two "making stuff up" episodes?

DoYouEvenLift

What an absolute stupid kunt. She shouldn't be allowed ever enter the country again, or even any other European countries. I also agree that people who do stupid sh!t like this that wastes garda resources should be fined whatever the garda resources cost.

unkel

A few lies that got completely out of hand and when the Gardai were involved there wasn't an easy way out anymore. Thankfully no man was arrested / accused. Pretty harsh sentence as it is imho (and a crininal conviction). She won't do it again for sure, no need to lock her up any further.

One eyed Jack

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

So you're comparing him envisaging might have happened to the person the police admitted they were "very close to arresting" with her claims that a real person she had encountered had raped her.

They're both the same are they, those two "making stuff up" episodes?

That's essentially the point I was making, yes?

Not sure what your point is though?