Student spared jail term for ‘elaborate’ rape claim hoax

A Brazilian student has been given a three-month suspended sentence and a €600 fine for an "elaborate hoax" in which she claimed she had been raped by two men in Dublin.

Thais Regina De Oliveira, aged 21, who had been residing with her boyfriend and other flatmates at Cabra Park in Dublin, pleaded guilty yesterday to making a false statement to officers at Mountjoy Garda Station on August 25 last.

She claimed that two men attacked her and gave a detailed description leading to a 12-day manhunt, a photo-fit being passed out, and technical examinations.