A teenager who made a false report about being raped was Tuesday slapped with a nine-month prison sentence when she appeared in the Corporate Area Corporate Resident Magistrate's Court.

The court heard that the complainant was arrested, charged and dragged before the court as a result of the false report by 19-year-old Ayana Morrison.

The matter, the court further heard, was at the preliminary hearing stage when Morrison told the court that the report was untrue after she went into the witness box and swore on the bible.

She was then taken into custody and charged with creating public mischief.

Morrison who broke down was in tears, told the court that she acted out of ignorance after pleading guilty before Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey.

"I overlooked what I did and I am sorry for what I did," Morrison told the court.

However, the magistrate told her that being sorry was not enough as the complainant could have been killed or maimed while in custody or during his arrest.

She also told Morrison that she had ample time to withdraw her statement before the matter got that far. "You can't just say you were ignorant; suppose I get ignorant and give you three years," RM Pusey said. "You have to pay for the ignorance and when you make allegations against a person they must be true," the magistrate said before handing down the sentence.



