A twisted crime in Portland

Here in Portland yesterday a small wave of panic went through the female population after a report surfaced of a woman being attacked and sexually assaulted by a group of men while out jogging around Back Cove on Monday night. Hours later, confusion and a different kind of rage emerged in the watching population as the second part of the story came to light, and cries of "Hoax!" rang out. As of this morning, the site at Channel 8 News had been updated and amended so that now the article reads thusly:

Police: Alleged Sex Assault Victim Recants Story
Woman Charged With Filing False Public Report
POSTED: 4:11 pm EDT July 20, 2010
UPDATED: 6:09 am EDT July 21, 2010

PORTLAND, Maine -- Portland police said the woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted on the Back Cove on Monday night has recanted her story.

Detectives said the woman claimed she was attacked by five men on a jogging path on Portland's Baxter Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.

Officers said Tuesday afternoon the sexual assault never happened.

Tuesday night police said Maryanne Morin, 22, of Portland was summonsed on a charge of filing a false public report.

[Source]

Figure THAT one out. Crying wolf is a terrible thing to do.

For those who would like to read on, there is more extensive coverage of the story on the Portland Press Herald site:
http://www.pressherald.com/news/back-cove-assault-a-hoax_2010-07-21.html