Karyn Galila, 24, has been given a 90 day jail sentence for her false report of being raped at gun point by five men in San Mateo, California. What is most striking about this story is the lack of consistency in the treatment of such false accounts, particularly the refusal of prosecutors to pursue charges against the two women behind the false rape charges in the Duke Lacrosse case.
Galila, 24, has admitted that she made up the story for her husband after she came home late from a rendezvous at a restaurant with another man — an individual who she recently met online.
At least with this fabricated story, the search was brief before the lie was discovered (a fingerprint on her car led to the man in question, who told police about the secret meeting). In the Duke case, the lives of various players were ruined, a city thrown into months of racially divisive controversy, a major university virtually shutdown, and millions spent on investigation and litigation. The result: no charges against the woman and her friend who made (and maintained) the charges.
For the California story, click here