Derbyshire Police have warned how it is a criminal offence to waste officers' time after a 14-year-old girl wrongly claimed she had been sexually assaulted.
The youngster sparked a man-hunt when she lied to police she had been attacked at Linear Park, Clowne, about 5.30pm, on August 10, near a disused railway line.
A police spokesman said: "Wasting police time is something we take very seriously because it ties up resources which could be needed elsewhere on genuine matters.
"Those who waste police time, make false allegations and false statements can face criminal charges."
Officers told how the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has admitted the offence did not happen and they intend to speak to her about the implications and problems related to this matter.
The girl had claimed she was pinned down in an overgrown area of Linear Park and her bogus attacker was forced to run away when a friend called her name.
Police were forced to carry out house-to-house inquiries and issued press releases with witness appeals through the media with a CD photo-fit of the bogus attacker.
A police spokesman added: "Police investigate all allegations professionally and thoroughly in good faith and hope this kind of incident doesn't deter genuine victims from coming forward."
Source: Derbyshire Times