Cry rape businesswoman who falsely accused father of two is jailed for 18 months.

A woman who made a false rape allegation that led to an innocent man being arrested and put in a police cell was today jailed for 18 months.

Rosanne England, 21, cut and then tore her underwear and scratched her own face before making the allegation that a masked stranger had entered her house in Holbury near Southampton.

She told officers he asked to use her phone and toilet because his car had broken down but then donned a joke dog mask and attacked her, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Rosanne England was jailed for 18 months at the Winchester Crown Court after she admitted perverting the course of justice
The businesswoman gave Hampshire Police a detailed description and officers launched a manhunt using an aircraft to try to find the man because they feared a dangerous rapist was on the loose in May last year.


At the same time about one mile away, Derek Cummings, 59, who did not know England and had never met her, was at a sport and social club in the 'wrong place at the wrong time', the court was told.

The married father of two teenage daughters fitted the description and could not offer an alibi because he had been walking his cocker spaniel in nearby woods alone.
He was arrested and detained for 28 hours while samples were taken before being released on police bail.

Meanwhile England gave further interviews and an e-fit of the suspect was circulated and a drawing was made of the car and mask with her help.

But the Forensic Science Service discovered that England's clothing had been cut before being torn.

After 24 days England finally admitted to police the allegation was completely untrue and Mr Cummings, who had suffered abuse from the public, was exonerated.

Mark Florida-James, prosecuting, said: 'This allegation of a stranger attack was taken very seriously by the police and a major investigation was launched. The cul-de-sac where Miss England lived was cordoned off and the force aircraft was used to search the area.

'It is unfortunate he (Mr Cummings) was in the wrong place at the wrong time and bore a resemblance to the description.

'But at no point was there any evidence that Mr Cummings was involved. It was completely made up and fabricated and he was totally innocent.'

The court heard that England, who suffered from mental health problems, believed she had been raped but when she realised that was not the case she still waited 36 hours before she told her father who called the police.

She is receiving psychiatric help.

Mr Florida-James said 73 staff were involved in the investigation and 54 statements were made. The costs of forensic work and overtime alone totalled £14,000.

England admitted perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing and the court was told she was remorseful for the trouble she had caused.

Sentencing England, the Recorder of Winchester, Judge Keith Cutler, said that such an allegation of stranger rape could have left Mr Cummings facing a jail term of at least eight years.

'You made a convincing complaint and as a result of that complaint an innocent man was arrested, a man of good character, a family man.'

The judge said Mr Cummings had to go through 'horrors' including an intimate examination. He said such false allegations 'sap the morale of the police' and added:

'There is a real effect of all this for women who are genuine victims of this horrendous crime of rape. If people make false claims it impacts on genuine claims and how they are treated.'

Speaking after the case, Mr Cummings said he still had trouble from people close to where he lives in Fawley, Hampshire, who wrongly believe 'there is no smoke without fire' and he cannot go into certain pubs.

"My family has been through hell. I have two teenaged daughters who were doing their A-levels at the time,' he said.

'I do not want to see a 21-year-old woman jailed but she knew I had been arrested and I was totally innocent. I have mixed feelings about her.

'I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had no alibi because I had been in bed reading a book until 10 in the morning and I had walked in the forest with my dog.

'I do not blame the police - they had to do a job. They were heavy handed with me initially but they realised I was innocent and I knew the DNA would clear me.'


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