Apparently, this is true in around 40% of all such accusations.

Woman pleads guilty to lying about rape:

Rodney Peters knew Kimberly St. Charles just four hours before she told police he raped her.


After intense interrogations over two days and following a polygraph test, his bosses suspended him and Peters feared he would be jailed. But because his story was so convincing, police asked more questions of his accuser.

That's when St. Charles admitted she lied, police said.

"She didn't know me," Peters said Tuesday after St. Charles pleaded guilty to making a false alarm, a felony. "She was essentially a stranger."

Peters, 42, of Pinckney, Mich., works for Party City. He was at the Westwood store March 12 as it was being switched over to Party City from a Factory Card Outlet store.

The store hired several temporary workers - including St. Charles, 21 -- to restock the shelves and change the décor to make it an official Party City store.

"It was her first day on the job," Peters said. "It was my first day on the project."

Except for introducing himself to all of the temporary workers, Peters never spoke to St. Charles.

"She left for lunch and never came back," Peters said.

A few hours later, police showed up at the store and started asking questions of Peters' boss. Peters soon was in a room with police who said they had to take him in for questioning.

"It was quite embarrassing," he said.

It wasn't until he got to the police office when Det. Dana Jones told him he'd been accused of rape.

He was shocked. He had no criminal record - not even a speeding ticket -- and a work history of more than 25 years. He offered his DNA and to take a polygraph, which police arranged.

His company suspended him and he had no idea why he'd been accused.

"For three days, I was suspended and was looking at rape charges," Peters said.

"I was absolutely devastated. I was sick for three weeks. I couldn't sleep. I didn't eat. It was something you don't even discuss."

During Peters' questioning, Jones pushed him. She quickly became suspicious of the allegations and pushed for St. Charles also to be aggressively questioned.

On March 15, St. Charles admitted she made the story up.

"It was terrible. I'm glad she was so tough," Peters said of Jones.

No one knows why St. Charles accused him.

"There isn't a day that I don't think 'Why?' " said Peters, who wasn't arrested or jailed.

"This is a very serious crime. It just diminishes the seriousness of this happening to other women."

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Beth Myers will sentence St. Charles on June 28. St. Charles can go to prison for up to a year but the charge carries the presumption of probation. She may have to pay for the investigation - 11 detectives investigated and interviewed witnesses over three days.

In a case in April, Melinda Denham was sent to prison for six months for falsely reporting her boyfriend raped her. The boyfriend spent time behind bars in that case.

"My biggest thing," Peters said of St. Charles, "is for this young lady to get some help."

Consider the nightmare for Peters; out of the blue and for no reason he is accused of one of the worst crimes imaginable.

I am constantly floored by the statistic supplied by one study that 40% of all rape accusations are totally fabricated - not mistaken, not unproven, completely and totally made up like this one:

A study of rape allegations in Indiana over a nine-year period revealed that over 40% were shown to be false — not merely unproven. According to the author, “These false allegations appear to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, seeking revenge, and obtaining sympathy and attention. False rape allegations are not the consequence of a gender-linked aberration, as frequently claimed, but reflect impulsive and desperate efforts to cope with personal and social stress situations.” ( Kanin EJ. Arch Sex Behav. 1994 Feb;23(1):81-92 False rape allegations. )


In 1985, a study of 556 rape allegations found that 27% accusers recanted when faced with a polygraph (which can be ordered in the military), and independent evaluation showed a false accusation rate of 60%. (McDowell, Charles P., Ph.D. “False Allegations.” Forensic Science Digest, (publication of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations), Vol. 11, No. 4 (December 1985), p. 64.) 

It just runs counter to what I understand of human nature.

It also indicates the value of the virtue of prudence and why women shouldn't put themselves in situations where they can be assaulted and men shouldn't put themselves in situations where they can be accused of rape, although the Peters case suggests that latter may be essentially impossible to achieve.