Sentence delay in rape claim case
Thursday, 4th October 2001.
A MOTHER-OF-TWO who made a false rape allegation, sparking a huge Police investigation, must wait longer than she thought to be sentenced.
Dawn Moule. 37, of Clover Field, Haverhill, appeared before judge John Devaux at Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing.
However, he refused to sentence her after hearing she had been led to believe by another judge that she would not go to jail.
In the absence of a transcript of those proceedings, confirming what he was told by Defence barrister Mark Norman, the judge ordered that the matter should be re-listed as soon as possible before the other judge, Judge John Holt.
Moule was remanded on bail.
When she appeared before Judge John Holt on June 6, she admitted intending to pervert the course justice.
Hugh Vass, prosecuting, said Motile made one oral and two written statements concerning her allegation that she was raped by two unknown men on the night of Sunday, November 28,1998.
Two men spent hours in custody after they were picked out in an identity parade, said Mr Vass.
The alleged incident came to light after a cyclist, Michael Hallam, saw Moule sitting on the grass in Haverhill. She appeared very distraught and told him she had been raped, said Mr Vass.
It resulted in a police operation involving the taking of 114 witness statements and 600 people being stopped and questioned.
Police set up road blocks immediately after the allegation was made, said Mr Vass. He added: “It was a major investigation.”
The police became suspicious for a number of reasons, said Mr Vass. He said one reason concerned the 999 call, which had been taped.
A phonetics expert analysed it, and no evidence of male voices or a struggle could be heard. Also, there was no medical or forensic indication that sexual intercourse had taken place.
It was discovered that Moule had made a similar false allegation at Bangor, Northern Ireland, in June of the same year. She had made a 999 call, claiming that three men had indecently assaulted her.
Also, back in 1984, she had made an allegation of being raped on a riverside path in Ware. Hertfordshire. That had resulted in her being awarded money by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Mr Vass told the judge that although the amount awarded was confidential, the normal award for matters of this nature was between £15,000 and £25,000.
Moule’s barrister, Mark Norman, said his client was not someone trying to make money from such allegations.
Her husband, Alan, was a financial adviser they were therefore “financially secure.”
The reason for the incidents was that she suffered from a “serious psychological disorder” - Munchausen’s Syndrome.
Mr Norman said: “It is not wickedness on the of this woman — it is illness.”
Dawn Moule. 37, of Clover Field, Haverhill, appeared before judge John Devaux at Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing.
However, he refused to sentence her after hearing she had been led to believe by another judge that she would not go to jail.
In the absence of a transcript of those proceedings, confirming what he was told by Defence barrister Mark Norman, the judge ordered that the matter should be re-listed as soon as possible before the other judge, Judge John Holt.
Moule was remanded on bail.
When she appeared before Judge John Holt on June 6, she admitted intending to pervert the course justice.
Hugh Vass, prosecuting, said Motile made one oral and two written statements concerning her allegation that she was raped by two unknown men on the night of Sunday, November 28,1998.
Two men spent hours in custody after they were picked out in an identity parade, said Mr Vass.
The alleged incident came to light after a cyclist, Michael Hallam, saw Moule sitting on the grass in Haverhill. She appeared very distraught and told him she had been raped, said Mr Vass.
It resulted in a police operation involving the taking of 114 witness statements and 600 people being stopped and questioned.
Police set up road blocks immediately after the allegation was made, said Mr Vass. He added: “It was a major investigation.”
The police became suspicious for a number of reasons, said Mr Vass. He said one reason concerned the 999 call, which had been taped.
A phonetics expert analysed it, and no evidence of male voices or a struggle could be heard. Also, there was no medical or forensic indication that sexual intercourse had taken place.
It was discovered that Moule had made a similar false allegation at Bangor, Northern Ireland, in June of the same year. She had made a 999 call, claiming that three men had indecently assaulted her.
Also, back in 1984, she had made an allegation of being raped on a riverside path in Ware. Hertfordshire. That had resulted in her being awarded money by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Mr Vass told the judge that although the amount awarded was confidential, the normal award for matters of this nature was between £15,000 and £25,000.
Moule’s barrister, Mark Norman, said his client was not someone trying to make money from such allegations.
Her husband, Alan, was a financial adviser they were therefore “financially secure.”
The reason for the incidents was that she suffered from a “serious psychological disorder” - Munchausen’s Syndrome.
Mr Norman said: “It is not wickedness on the of this woman — it is illness.”
