Woman in her 40s who filed false rape complaint after consensual sex gets suspended sentence

A woman in her 40s who falsely accused a man of rape after consensual sex has been sentenced to prison time.

Judge Lee Byeong-ho of the Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 7 sentenced the woman, identified only as A, to six months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of filing a false criminal complaint.

A was indicted after submitting a complaint to the Changwon Jungbu Police Station in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Feb. 25, falsely claiming that a man identified as B had raped her in a hotel room.

Security footage showed A walking out of the hotel alongside B on the morning of Feb. 7 — before she filed the complaint — and parting with a wave. Five days later, on Oct. 12, she sent B text messages reading "Honey" and "Have a great day today." On Oct. 19, the two met again and were seen holding hands, hugging and kissing.

A also gave detailed testimony to police about how she came to enter the hotel with B, which made it difficult to conclude she had been physically or psychologically unable to resist, or that she had been incapacitated by alcohol at the time.

Ultimately, the court found the false-complaint charges against A established based on these and other factors.

"She put B at risk of criminal punishment and improperly exploited the state's criminal justice system for personal gain," the court said. However, it added that it had taken into account that B, who reached a settlement with A, did not wish to see her criminally punished, and that she had no prior criminal record.