'Agitated' partner jailed for false rape allegation

Faye Pendlebury, 36, made the allegation as a "point scoring" exercise during a volatile relationship, Sheffield Crown Court was told.

Her 32-year-old boyfriend was arrested and detained by police, then re-arrested for a second time when she lied about him assaulting her.

Pendlebury looked shocked and stunned in the dock as she was led away by security staff to serve her prison sentence.

Judge Simon Lawler told her: "False complaints of rape are always regarded as a very serious matter. It is quite impossible to avoid an immediate custodial sentence."

Louise Gallagher, prosecuting, said Pendlebury was arrested during a 3am disturbance at her boyfriend Alan Jones's home in Goldthorpe, near Barnsley.

She was drunk, agitated and screaming and was taken to Barnsley police station for breaching the peace.

During questioning, the court heard, Pendlebury appeared frightened and showed officers bruising on her thighs. She asked to see a doctor and then claimed she had been raped by Mr Jones, the son of her former partner.

He was arrested at 5.15am on suspicion of rape. He was handcuffed and taken to Ecclesfield police station, near Sheffield, where he was detained and samples were taken from him.

Mr Jones, who had also been drinking alcohol, was only bailed 10-and-a-half hours later that day.

Three days later Pendlebury, formerly of Victoria Street, Goldthorpe, contacted the police again and accused Mr Jones of assaulting her while on bail by punching her on the nose and hitting her with a bottle.

He was again arrested and taken to Barnsley police station, where he was detained for more than two hours and questioned. Soon afterwards Pendlebury admitted the assault was untrue.

Miss Gallagher said: "She said it had been made up to get back at Mr Jones for not helping her with the housework."

Pendlebury was given a fixed penalty notice by the police but was still being treated as a rape victim.

It was only the next day that she decided to come clean and admitted to officers that she had fabricated the rape allegation to "score points against Mr Jones" after her arrest.

She was then detained and told police she had been so drunk on the

night she was arrested that she could not remember making the rape claim.

Pendlebury claimed to officers that she had lied in order to hurt Mr Jones. She said: "It was point scoring, I honestly thought they would not believe me."

She admitted perverting the course of justice on April 8 this year.

Robert Sandford, for Pendlebury, told Sheffield Crown Court that Pendlebury had been treated for her drink problem in recent years.

He said that she had been in a relationship with Mr Jones's father and they had two children together. That relationship ended last December and she then began a relationship with Alan Jones, although it was a "tempestuous" affair.

There was trouble between the two on the night in question, the court heard, which had been aggravated by large amounts of alcohol.

Mr Sandford said Pendlebury had taken steps to improve her life by moving away from Goldthorpe, elsewhere in South Yorkshire, and presented a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Lawler said he was giving her credit for her guilty plea and the fact she had expressed remorse, but was not prepared to suspend her prison sentence.

Law change 'to be dropped'

Plans to change the law to grant anonymity to men charged with rape were announced by the coalition Government in May but it is understood the proposal is to be dropped.

The Coalition Agreement stated that it intended to extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants despite the policy not being in the Tory or Liberal Democrat election manifestos.

But there was no mention of the plan in the Queen's Speech and last week Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said he would rather put pressure on the media not to name suspects.