A woman who pleaded guilty to making up a story about being raped in Longueuil was sentenced Friday to 15 months, to be served in the community.
Carole Thomas entered a guilty plea to charges of mischief earlier this month at the Longueuil courthouse.
In February 2015 Thomas went public with a story that she been attacked the previous October near a bike path in Longueuil, near where 23-year-old Jenique Dalcourt was found murdered on a bike path. She went to the media, claiming that police were not taking her rape claims seriously.
At the time, police described her story as suspicious, and that there were no similarities between Thomas's case and Dalcourt's murder.
She pleaded guilty in October to four criminal counts and apologized to police officers for making false claims about a botched investigation.
Both the prosecution and defence agreed to the sentence, which will include eight months of house arrest. They agreed to the terms because Thomas pleaded guilty and lost her job as a result of the false claims. They also said she was likely motivated by a mental illness and desire to seek attention.
Thomas has since moved to New Brunswick, but her sentence will follow her there. She will spend eight months under house arrest, seven further months under strict conditions, and then two years on probation.
Defence lawyer Olivier Sirard said his client was aware of the consequences of lying about rape.
“Yes she did, and I think everyone was very clear when she made her guilty plea of the consequences of what she did,” he said.
The judge also highlighted the consequences of her actions, telling Thomas that because so many women file legitimate claims that are often not taken seriously, making up a story affects all real assault victims.
"Your actions feed into prejudices and pre-conceived ideas that some people may have with victims of sexual assaults," stated the judge.
She also chastised her for spreading police resources thin following Dalcourt’s murder by making police investigate a fabricated story.
