Lurgan woman to appeal jail sentence after conviction for falsely reporting a rape

Sharon Linda Adams, of the Lough Road, Lurgan faced a charge of wasting police time by making a false report which gave rise to concern for the safety of an unknown woman and another charge of wasting police time regarding concern for her own safety.

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A prosecutor told Craigavon Magistrates Court that on January 24, 2022 police were tasked to attend a report by an anonymous female from a phone box alleging she had witnessed a woman being raped outside a tyre firm on Lurgan’s Lough Road.

"Police were diverted from other duties, attended and spent time checking the area yet they could neither locate the reporting party nor the injured person. The following day the police requested the recording of the 101 call and identified that of the reporting person’s voice to be that of a regular call, the defendant Sharon Adams who lives in close proximity to Canavan’s Tyres on the Lough Road,” said the prosecuting lawyer.

The defendant attended Lurgan Police Station on a voluntary interview on April 22 and during the interview she denied making the call and claimed the voice on the recording was that of her sister who sounds very similar to her. Police visited her sister and confirmed her voice did not resemble that on the call and discovered there ‘were underlaying familial problems at play’.

The prosecutor added that on Saturday April 30 at 5pm the investigating officer received a voice mail from a message believed to be from the defendant.

“During this she was gasping and asking for help saying she couldn’t breathe. A crew was assigned to ascertain the defendant’s welfare. On arrival she was safe and well and said she had found her inhaler and she no longer needed police assistance. She was further cautioned for wasting police time. She was reported to the PPS.”

Mr Coulter, her solicitor, said his client does not accept a claim by the Probation Service that she had been drunk on a phone call to them.

District Judge Bernie Kelly said she was accepting the assertion by Probation that Adams was drunk. “I am taking it that she is in breach of her deferment on the basis of that.”

Mr Coulter said his instructions are that his client has not consumed any alcohol since the date of deferral, adding it was ‘supported by a letter from a medical professional – a consultant psychiatrist. He said she has had no further issues with police and had been engaging with Probation and the services offered to her.

District Judge Bernie Kelly said the consultant psychiatrist dated the letter after the call to Probation.

“Miss Adams has a significantly poor record for offences of this type. She had received on her last number of outings a probation order. I was only prepared to consider a non-custodial sentence if she could demonstrate and proved to me that she could remain alcohol free and therefore substantially reduce the risk of further offending.

"When I say no, I don’t mean possibly no, a wee bit no, I mean no no. I do accept the probation officer saying to me in a phone call they were of the view she was inebriated. I accept that therefore she did not maintain the sobriety I had asked her to do during that period. There is no point in me imposing another probation order if she has not got her alcoholism completely under control.”

Mr Coulter said his client insists she was sober while on the phone to Probation and that she was ill at the time and she was on medication.

"She has given an explanation regarding a probation officer who has made an assertion based on a phone call which can determine this woman’s liberty,” he said, asking the judge not to impose a custodial sentence.

District Judge Kelly said: "I do not accept the explanation for slurred speech as anything other than being under the influence of alcohol and I had told you no alcohol.”

She imposed three months jail for each of the offences plus a £25 Offender Levy.

Mr Coulter said his client would appeal and she was released on her own bail of £250, to live at her own address and no other unless she applies to the court to change her address.

Adams is also banned from entering any premises that sells intoxicating liquor, not to have intoxicating liquor on her person nor is she to have consumed any. Police can stop her anytime they want and ask her to submit to a breathiliser test. If she refuses or fails it, it will be a breach of bail