A 20-year-old girl has been jailed for two years... after falsely accusing two men of raping her.
Kelly Atkins - who was 18 at the time - claimed she was attacked by her boyfriend Wayne Maddox and his best pal Ricky Lambert.
But a jury at Canterbury Crown Court decided her allegations were a tissue of lies - and convicted her of perverting the course of justice.
Judge Adele Williams: "Rape is a repulsive crime but making false allegations of rape is a dreadful crime."
She told Atkins, of Boleyn Avenue, Margate that her claims had resulted in the two men being arrested in front of their families.
They were then held in custody for 12 hours and ordered to undergo "humiliating and degrading" examinations - one of them described it as: "The most uncomfortable experience of my life".
The judge said that Wayne and Ricky were totally innocent but had been held in cells "until your lies were exposed".
She said making false allegations of rape "undermined public confidence" in the judicial system and "allows doubt to creep in where none should exist."
Atkins had been convicted at a second trial after the first jury failed to agree on a verdict.
But the judge said Atkins - who sat passively in the dock - had been convicted on "clear and compelling evidence".
She added: "I have seen and watched you give evidence and I conclude that you are a manipulative young woman".
She said Atkins - who had planned to join the army - had harassed her ex-boyfriend which had then culminated with the rape allegations.
Her barrister James Bloomer handed in a number of references on Atkins' behalf.
He said they claimed she was a "pleasant and decent young woman in the general run of things."
Link: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011/december/8/girl_jailed_over_rape_claims.aspx
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