A prostitute who made a false claim that she had been raped by a police officer in a cell has been jailed for four months.
Martina Longbottom made a detailed 10-page statement about the alleged rape in a cell at Bethel Street Police Station.
At first her complaint was investigated as a matter of urgency and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was called in.
But the police station's CCTV footage soon revealed that no officer matching Longbottom's description had been in the station at the relevant time.
Longbottom, 45, of Easthills, New Costessey admitted wasting police time by making a false report of a crime on April 21.
Jailing her for four months, district judge Philip Browning told her: “It is difficult to think of a more serious false allegation to make than that you were raped by a police officer while in custody.
“I consider I would be failing in my duty were I not to reflect the seriousness of the offence by imposing a custodial sentence.” (
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