Woman cautioned over false Crowthorne rape claim
A woman has been cautioned for wasting police time after falsely claiming to have been sexually assaulted in Berkshire.
The 19-year-old called police on 6 November last year reporting she had been attacked in Church Road West in Crowthorne.
Officers began an inquiry but failed to find any evidence to support the claim.
Last week they spoke to the woman again who admitted the claim was false. She was cautioned.
Ch Insp Simon Bowden, of Thames Valley Police, said: "False reporting wastes police resources and unnecessarily increases the fear of crime.
"Police usually get to the bottom of false reports, at which point we need to carefully consider prosecution or other action, coupled with appropriate support, depending on the circumstances.
"Anyone who makes a false report of a crime may ultimately get themselves a criminal record."