AN attractive 21-year-old Chelmsford woman who made a false claim of rape against a man has been jailed for 18 months.

She had pleading guilty at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court to doing acts "tending to pervert the course of justice”.

Samantha Merry, of Bells Chase, Great Baddow, had already been warned by a judge at the earlier hearing last month to assume she faced jail.

On Friday at Chelmsford Crown Court, Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC branded Merry “wicked” as he jailed her.

He told her: “It was only because of inconsistent forensic material that your careful and wicked deception was revealed and you were persuaded eventually to admit to the falsity of your crime.

"Your motivation was entirely mercenary, your financial benefit in exchange for your victim's imprisonment.

"As a result of your allegation your victim's life became the stuff of which nightmares are made."

The judge added her false allegation would make genuine rape victims hesitate to come forward and there was a possibility guilty men would be acquitted when tried.

In a plea for mercy, Merry’s counsel Paul Donnegan claimed there had been little pre-planning or sophistication.

"It was a confused and muddled account by a confused and muddled individual," he said and added that she had an “entrenched cocaine habit”.

Merry had admitted doing acts tending or intending to pervert the course of justice on March 3 this year.

The judge had been told earlier that after Merry made a 13-page statement, eight police carried out an early morning swoop on the house of the man she accused and he was arrested.

His house was searched and he spent 23 hours in custody.

He was then on bail for 15 weeks, 235 hours of police time including forensic examination costing £3,773 was then spent on the case. The total cost of the investigation is not yet known.

When questioned on June 14 about discrepancies in her evidence following CCTV analysis, Merry re-affirmed her allegation, but two hours later withdrew her claims of rape.

Prosecutor Richard Stevens added Merry, a drug addict with no previous convictions, had a drug debt of £3,000 involving crack cocaine and it was her dealer who had told her to accuse the victim of rape.

He said that she had hoped to clear her debt by doing what he asked.

Judge Goldstaub commented : "She's had a drug habit since she was 15," to which Mr Stevens replied: "It appears so."

He refused an application to adjourn sentencing for a psychiatric assessment.