'Wicked' woman falsely claimed man stabbed and sexually assaulted her as well as raping a child

A “devious” and “wicked” woman stabbed herself twice in the leg in separate occasions and told police she had been attacked by a man she knew. She also made false allegations that he had sexually assaulted her and pretended to be someone else claiming he had raped a young child.

At Grimsby Crown Court, Courtney Clapham, 23, of Wallis Road, Louth, and formerly of Newport Walk, Immingham, admitted three counts of perverting the course of justice. In one of the offences, she pressured a friend to lie to the police to say she witnessed the man stabbing her.

Judge Gurdial Singh branded her “an utterly manipulative, wicked young woman” who told “evil lies”. Prosecuting in court, Katherine White said the defendant was working as a barmaid when she first met the complainant.

Their relations eventually soured which led to accusations that the man and another woman had made up fake profiles of her on social media. Humberside Police investigated but found no evidence and no further action was taken.

She sent police images of bruised arms and cuts to her legs and claimed to police they had been caused by the man. Clapham also phoned police giving somebody else’s name and claimed that the man had raped a girl.

He was immediately arrested and police attended at the home of the woman who Clapham had used to make the false allegation. Officers interviewed the girl. Social services also became involved and interviewed the man’s family.

He was bailed by police. Clapham made numerous malicious calls into the police Force Control Room. Miss White said on one occasion, Clapham called for an ambulance stating she had been stabbed.

Paramedics attended and found her bleeding from her thigh with the knife still in the wound. They alerted police and Clapham told police it was the man and her friend had witnessed the stabbing. She told police in a statement she had seen Clapham being stabbed by the man after an argument. However, that was a false statement, said Miss White.

The man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He denied the offence and Clapham was taken to hospital for treatment. Days later, there was another call to the police to say Clapham had again been stabbed by the man, this time in her calf. Police found her with a knife sticking in her leg. She was taken to hospital.

Miss White said officers noted how she was laughing and joking and had not seemed upset.

Police attended the man’s address and he was arrested, charged and kept in custody to appear at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court. Again he denied the offence and said he had been at home all day. CCTV enquiries later confirmed the facts and he was released.

The prosecutor said a police officer had accompanied Clapham to the hospital where she showed the officer her injury from the first alleged stabbing. Miss White said the defendant rolled up her trouser leg to show her thigh: “She told the officer ‘This is what I … he did’. It was a slip that the officer recorded on a body-worn camera.”

Reading from the victim impact statement, the man told how she had nearly ruined his life. “It was not just malicious, it was life-ruining,” he said. He added he had only got through it thanks to the support of friends who stood by him and “the dark cloud” had finally gone..

For Clapham, Natalie Dean said her client suffered from an emotionally unstable personality disorder diagnosed by a psychiatrist. She said her client was only 20 years at the time.

‘A fantasist capable of making evil lies’

Judge Singh said she is “an utterly manipulative, wicked young woman making the most vile allegations and going to the extent of stabbing herself”.

“You are a fantasist capable of making evil lies and prepared to make allegations that destroy their lives. It is utterly wicked,” he said. He added the accusations caused damage to the individual but also to the justice system.

The judge said: “You designed those consequences to come to pass.” He sentenced her to three years and nine months in prison. He imposed a ten-year Restraining Order not to contact the man directly or indirectly.

Read the full article at Grimsby Live.