That 16-year-old initially said she was abducted from a southwest Houston neighborhood, along Rapidcreek and Ravenridge, just two doors from her own home. Sex crimes investigators questioned her. Police say after she learned how extensively they were going to look at her friends and her cell phone records, she realized she couldn't cover all her bases. They say that's when she admitted spending the night with a 22-year-old who police have identified as her boyfriend.
The 16-year-old's grandmother is doing an about-face today, telling Eyewitness News she is extremely upset with her granddaughter, and is downright embarrassed by the whole situation.
Police say it turns out the 16-year-old overslept and made up the whole story to avoid getting in trouble. Investigators say she has done a tremendous disservice to true victims of sexual assault.
"It absolutely hurts other true victims of child sexual assault, that come in that are completely legitimate victims," said Officer John Barnes with theHouston Police Department. "Defense attorneys and everyone else get these cases from the news media -- they're in there a lot -- and so they can look that stuff up. The more of these cases you get, the more it makes people question victims."
Police tell Eyewitness News they plan to refer this case to the Harris County district attorney's office. This 16-year-old could face possible criminal charges. A false report of child abuse is a third-degree felony.
In the meantime, the 16-year-old's grandmother maintains the 22-year-old is not the girl's boyfriend and that the sex they had was not consensual. The grandmother wants to bring charges against the 22-year-old.
