We have occasionally discussed false rape cases but the prosecution of Brittany Sorey, 30, has a tragic and novel twist. After the mother of six children fabricated a rape claim, a suspect was killed in confrontation with one of Sorey’s friend.
Sorey told the police that she was sexually assaulted in Largo, Florida. She claimed that the assailant was a Hispanic male who “battered her and vaginally penetrated her with a broken broom handle and a box cutter.” She gave the same account to detectives in a later statement. She was six weeks pregnant at the time.
Sorey and her husband, Gerald, 25, were facing eviction at the time. Her husband was arrested during this period for allegedly throwing Sorey to the ground and menacing her with a Glock handgun. The dispute was over infidelity claims. Sorey later withdrew her statement and prosecutors dropped the charge of aggravated assault on a pregnant victim.
The court filing recounts how a male friend of Sorey was staying in the apartment on May 10th when a neighbor started to bang on the door to deal with a “money issue.” When her friend called her, Sorey told him that “the person knocking at the door sounded like the male that sexually battered her.” Sorey’s friend then went outside the apartment to take a picture of the neighbor to give to the police. An altercation erupted and “the friend killed the neighbor in self defense.”
Later Sorey admitted that she made up the entire rape story. The site, Smoking Gun, reports that Sorey describes herself on Facebook as “Wife, mother, step mother, medical student. MS and Lupus warrior.” She reportedly is a student at Ultimate Medical Academy, which trains for entry-level health care jobs.
She is only charged with filing a false police report. However, it will be interesting how much weight the court gives the tragic conclusion to the false story. Had Sorey not repeated the lie to her friend, he would not have likely had the fatal confrontation.