[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jets4Life

I wonder how common false accusations are? At about the same time (fall 1998), I had a friend who was dating a women, who happen to be a compulsive liar. They occasionally had arguments, and the first time he tried to break up with her, she told him she was pregnant with his kid a day later.

We convinced him that he should go to a doctor with her, so her story checks out (she had made up many stories previously), and when he did, she broke down and admitted she made it up so he would stay with her. About a month later, he was arrested, and charged with rape by the same girl.

I knew she was full of it, given her history, and my friend I had know for five years, would not have committed an act like that. For the next six months, he had to live with this charge against him. He was suicidal, and ended up at a crisis unit for a couple of days.

Eventually, she recanted, and admitted it was all a lie. She got a slap on the wrist for all the damage she had done. I wonder what percentage of reported rapes are false. My guess would be 15-20%

That's horrible. How can a person only get a slap on the wrist for lying to authorities and taking 6 months away from a person's life? IMO this should be a two way street and the penalty for lying and putting a person through misery should be along the lines of the actual crime.