SANTA CRUZ — A reported rape on the UC Santa Cruz campus earlier this month was a hoax, UCSC police said Thursday.

The 21-year-old woman has admitted to campus police investigators that she staged the Feb. 17 attack, UCSC Police Chief Nader Oweis said.

The woman, who was visiting the campus, originally told police she was raped and physically assaulted shortly after noon that Sunday. The attack was alleged to have occurred in a remote part of campus.

Oweis said the investigation has been concluded and the matter will now go to the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s Office for possible prosecution. The woman, who is not being identified at this time, could face criminal charges for making a false report.

“The report of this incident has very understandably created a deep sense of unease among UCSC students, staff, and faculty, as well as residents of the Santa Cruz area,” Oweis said in a release Thursday.

The university has rescinded the $5,000 reward it had offered last week for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the alleged attacker.

Follow Sentinel reporter Jessica M. Pasko on Twitter at Twitter.com/jmpasko96