Woman convicted for perverting the course of justice – Slough AMENDED 04 April 2012, 6:02 pm A 23-year-old Slough woman has been given a suspended sentence after falsely claiming to have been raped following a night out in Windsor. Sophie Louise Langford, of Knowlton Road, Slough, was given a nine month sentence, suspended for twelve months, at Reading Crown Court after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. During the early hours of Monday 13 June last year, a marked police car on patrol in Slough was flagged down by a member of the public who said that he had heard a young woman calling for help, staggering in the road, and saying that she had been raped. She told the officer that she had been out to a nightclub in Windsor and was later raped. Back at the police station, the woman said that her name was Chloe however police found a passport in her possession with the name Sophie Langford. The 23-year-old went onto tell police how she was out with her friend in Windsor but they later became separated. She then got into a car with a man she had met earlier that evening, along with two other men. During the journey, she alleged she had been lifted out of the car by one of the men and raped while another assisted by holding her down. She said that the men then drove off in the car, Langford was taken out in a police car by officers to try and identify the location of where the assault took place. The 23-year-old claimed it had happened in Helston Lane, Windsor. Later the same day, Langford was met by two specially trained officers who explained the process of a medical examination and carried out a detailed police interview. Langford reiterated that she had been raped and stated that she would support police and court proceedings so that the perpetrators could be punished. Meanwhile, CCTV footage obtained by police showed Langford outside a nightclub in Windsor with a man matching the description of the main offender she described. It also showed her getting into a car with the man. Officers attended the home address of the registered car owner where they arrested two men on suspicion of conspiracy to rape. Both provided detailed accounts of their whereabouts on the night in question. One of them told officers that a friend of his had met Langford and that he had asked if they could give her lift back home which was agreed. However, he went onto say that when they started driving; Langford was unable to provide them with directions to her house so after a short while she was asked to get out of the car but refused and became aggressive and loud. Both men were later released without charge. The following day (14/6), the man who had initially met Langford, along with his friend, attended Hounslow police station where they were subsequently arrested on suspicion of rape. Once in custody at Thames Valley Police, they underwent a full forensic medical examination. Both provided detailed accounts which supported their friend’s accounts and denied rape. Mobile phone footage taken on one of their phones on the night in question also supported their version of events. Both were subsequently released on police bail pending further inquiries. The following month (1/7/2011), Langford attended Slough police station where she asked to speak to a police officer as she wanted to withdraw her statement regarding the assault. She told police that the reasons for her withdrawing her statement were because she could not remember much as she was drunk. During a police interview later that week, the 23-year-old admitted lying about being raped, stating that she was upset because the group of men had not driven her home. Det Con Amanda Winterbourne, officer in the case, said: “Not only has valuable police time been wasted investigating what was a very serious allegation made by Langford, but four innocent men spent a total of 45 hours in police custody.” “False reporting also increase the fear of crime. People should not under estimate the seriousness of such behaviour. Anyone who chooses to report a false crime and waste police time will be dealt with accordingly
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 12:22:18 +0000
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