ST. CHARLES • A woman has been charged with falsely accusing a St. Charles city police officer with raping her in a department holding cell.

Megan Elyse Gabriel, 28, of the 3500 block of Ridgewood Drive in unincorporated St. Charles County, was charged Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of making a false report.

Gabriel was arrested for outstanding warrants March 30 and taken to St. Charles' city jail, charges say. After being booked, she accused a St. Charles police officer of raping her and assaulting her in a jail cell.

"Gabriel was warned that repeatedly making such a false declaration in a criminal investigation was a crime," according to a probable cause statement by police.

Gabriel "was adamant that she was raped in her jail cell and completed a written statement to this effect," the probable cause statement says.

An officer reviewed surveillance video from the cell Gabriel was placed in, which showed she "was alone in her cell the entire time, with no one to include (the officer) ever entering her cell," charges say.

Gabriel's criminal history includes charges in Missouri and Florida of drug possession, stealing, driving while intoxicated, forging a check and shoplifting, charges say.

Bail for Gabriel was set at $500.

Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editor, Mandy St. Amand. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.