Woman's false allegations led to major rape inquiry
Thursday, 14th June 2001.
A MAJOR rape investigation at Haverhill three years ago was prompted by the false allegation of an attention-seeking mother-of-two, a court heard.
Dawn Moule, 37, of Clover Field, Haverhill, appeared at Bury St Edmunds Crown Court, where she admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice by making a false rape claim.
The court was told a huge, year-long police operation costing more than £10,000, was launched after Moule claimed she had been raped by two men as she crossed the Recreation Ground in Haverhill in November, 1998.
Peter Waine, prosecuting, told the court Moule had been diagnosed by psychiatrists as suffering from the severe personality disorder Münchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. This led her to invent stories to gain attention.
Detectives investigating the rape allegation discovered that Moule had made a similar allegation of a serious sexual assault in Northern Ireland in June, 1988.
In March last year, only two months after being charged with perverting the course of justice, a hysterical Moule again knocked on a door in Haverhill claiming to have been attacked.
Mr Waine said it was an unusual case which had caused a massive waste of police time and had been discussed at the highest level within Suffolk Constabulary. Two innocent men had been arrested and held in custody for 15 hours after the Recreation Ground rape allegation.
The police investigation involved officers taking more than 100 witness statements, with 350 hotline messages received and 85 pieces of evidence collected.
Mr Waine said: "The investigation took officers away from their usual duties, causing concern for local policing."
Judge John Holt postponed sentencing on Moule until June 28 and she was released on conditional bail. The judge asked for probation reports to be compiled, looking at ways of incorporating some kind of treatment into Moule's sentence.
Dawn Moule, 37, of Clover Field, Haverhill, appeared at Bury St Edmunds Crown Court, where she admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice by making a false rape claim.
The court was told a huge, year-long police operation costing more than £10,000, was launched after Moule claimed she had been raped by two men as she crossed the Recreation Ground in Haverhill in November, 1998.
Peter Waine, prosecuting, told the court Moule had been diagnosed by psychiatrists as suffering from the severe personality disorder Münchausen's Syndrome by Proxy. This led her to invent stories to gain attention.
Detectives investigating the rape allegation discovered that Moule had made a similar allegation of a serious sexual assault in Northern Ireland in June, 1988.
In March last year, only two months after being charged with perverting the course of justice, a hysterical Moule again knocked on a door in Haverhill claiming to have been attacked.
Mr Waine said it was an unusual case which had caused a massive waste of police time and had been discussed at the highest level within Suffolk Constabulary. Two innocent men had been arrested and held in custody for 15 hours after the Recreation Ground rape allegation.
The police investigation involved officers taking more than 100 witness statements, with 350 hotline messages received and 85 pieces of evidence collected.
Mr Waine said: "The investigation took officers away from their usual duties, causing concern for local policing."
Judge John Holt postponed sentencing on Moule until June 28 and she was released on conditional bail. The judge asked for probation reports to be compiled, looking at ways of incorporating some kind of treatment into Moule's sentence.
