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This article was published 16/3/2016 (1647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman says she lied to police about being the victim of a violent attack — then faked a pregnancy to trick her boyfriend — as part of a desperate bid for attention.

Rachel Sokoloski, 22, was given a one-year suspended sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty to public mischief and making a false statement. Her probation includes performing 75 hours of community service.

"I am so sorry for what I’ve done," an emotional Sokoloski told court.

Sokoloski called 911 back in August 2014, claiming an ex-boyfriend had just attacked her while she was out for an afternoon jog. She said the man had jumped out of the bushes with a knife and slashed her legs repeatedly. She showed police seven different superficial cuts she had suffered.

Investigators were immediately suspicious. Sokoloski wasn’t dressed for running, as she was carrying a purse and wearing flip-flops. Her behaviour at the scene also raised some eyebrows, court was told.

Police then went to question her ex-boyfriend, and found him home with his father. They learned he had been in the residence the whole afternoon. Sokoloski had also described her attacker as having sped away in his car — but police found the engine cold to the touch.

Sokoloski also described her ex-boyfriend has having a goatee. However, he was clean-shaven when police interviewed him. He had apparently shaved since the last time she saw him.

Sokoloski was brought in for further questioning, and now revealed nine different wounds on her legs. Police noted at least two of them hadn’t originally been present.

She finally admitted to having made the entire incident up.

"My motivation was to bring attention to myself," she told investigators.

But her deceit took another twist weeks later when Sokoloski’s boyfriend — who was stationed in Alberta as part of the Canadian Armed Forces — received a frantic phone call that she had just given birth to their child. He was shocked, as he didn’t even know she was pregnant.

The man obtained leave and returned back to Winnipeg. He quickly became suspicious of Sokoloski’s story, but she tried to re-assure him by showing him a cesarean-scar on her stomach.

"It had been drawn on," Crown attorney Melissa Hazelton said Tuesday. There was no baby.

"It was a fantasy, a lie, in an effort to prop up a failing relationship," lawyer Kerry Unruh told court.

A pre-sentence report shows Sokoloski has a difficult background which has led to a "skewed idea of what a healthy relationship looks like." There are also ongoing mental health issues which are being addressed.

Sokoloski’s probation conditions now include having no contact with either of the former men in her life.

www.mikeoncrime.com