An Oct. 1 attempted sexual and aggravated battery incident on campus, which led to a UF alert sent out to students, faculty and staff, turned out to be a lie.
After investigating the incident alleged to have occurred between Williamson Hall and Weimer Hall, University Police’s Criminal Investigations Division found inconsistencies in the victim’s stories, which also included accounts of being stalked at her off-campus residence, according to a UPD news release.
When officers questioned Sarah Lawrence, a 20-year-old UF student, about her conflicting stories, she said she made up her original claims of being attacked and stalked.
On Wednesday, police said they planned to file a sworn complaint against Lawrence to the State Attorney’s Office.
She faces charges of filing a fake police report and providing false information to officers, according to the release. Lawrence declined to comment on the incident.
At 9:41 p.m. Oct. 1, police received a call about a sexual assault. Three minutes later, a UF Alert was sent, describing the suspect to be a tall, white male with a knife. At 11:05 p.m., police cleared the scene with the alleged suspect still on the loose.
“There was a tremendous amount of resources used during this investigation — resources that could have been used for other cases,” said UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org.
