A 22-year-old woman who concoted a story about two masked men raping her in her apartment was this afternoon fined $7,000.

Michelle Lee Carreiro, of Cut Road, St. George’s, appeared at Magistrates’ Court where she pleaded guilty to wilfully and knowingly making the false report to Police last week.

Prosecutor Cindy Clarke said Carreiro, a clerk at furniture importers Joshua Bates Ltd., gave detectives a 19-page statement complaining of a “brutal sexual assault” on October 15 and lengthy descriptions of her supposed attackers.

But it was entirely made up, the court heard, with the defendant admitting to Police yesterday that she was trying to cover up a sexual relationship with her ex-boyfriend from her present partner.

“Police were about to arrest two men in the East End,” said Ms Clarke. “It’s one of the most detailed sexual assault reports I have seen.”

Carreiro, who represented herself, told the court she was sorry for making the false statement. “I didn’t think it would get blown up to this proportion,” she said.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner fined her $1,000 and ordered her to pay $6,000 in reparation to pay for the Police investigation.

* Full story in tomorrow's Royal Gazette.