Jail Sentence For Cumbria Woman Guilty Of Perverting Course Of Justice

17/06/2010

Leyla Ibrahim was sentenced to three years imprisonment today at Carlisle Crown Court for perverting the course of justice.

Following the sentence Linda Vance, District Crown Prosecutor from CPS Cumbria and Lead Prosecutor for rape and sexual offences said:

"This sort of case, where someone fabricates an allegation of sexual assault, and continues with that false allegation, is very rare.  But, as in this case, the consequences can be very serious.  Not only were these false allegations very worrying for the local community, who feared that there were two attackers still at large in the area, they also resulted in the arrest of four innocent men.  Perverting the course of justice in this way is a serious matter as it undermines the whole basis of our justice system.

"This case should not in any way deter victims of rape or sexual assault from coming forward.  If you have been the victim of sexual assault you will be taken seriously and you will be believed and supported.  We have been working very closely with the police and voluntary organisations to continue to improve how we deal with sexual offence cases as well as how we support victims in bringing cases to court, and as a result in the last year we have seen an increase in the number of convictions for these offences. We will continue to do all we can to provide the best service possible to victims of sexual violence."