Sophie Pointon, 22, told police officers that she had been sexually assaulted in the back of the cab she had been picked up in after a night out in Leeds city centre
A criminology student, who lied she was groped by a taxi driver after he refused to accept a kebab-soaked £10, has been jailed for 16 months.
Sophie Pointon, 22, whose dream was to become a police officer, claimed she had been sexually assaulted in the back of the cab she had been picked up in after a night out in Leeds.
She rang 999 in the early hours of April 22 this year and continued the deception by signing a statement, giving an account of the attack.
Leeds Crown Court heard the driver, a father-of-five, was tracked down and kept in custody for six hours.
In a moving impact statement he described how the claims had left his life in tatters.
He was also unable to work for four weeks and was shunned by his Muslim community as a result of the claim.
But his case never went to court as a telephone recording of the incident, with his taxi firm, cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Pointon pleaded guilty to perverting justice and was handed a prison sentence yesterday.
Kate Bisset, prosecuting, said the driver was interviewed and said he could recall Pointon being ‘extremely drunk’ when she got into his car holding a kebab.
He said Pointon threw £10 note at him when they reached the Hyde Park area but he refused to accept it as it was covered in oil from the kebab.
The driver said Pointon, who graduated this summer with a BA Honours in criminology from Leeds Beckett University, then became abusive and ran around the car opening doors.
The prosecutor said: ‘He did not think much of it at the time because such incident with people who are intoxicated are not unusual.’
A recording of a conversation between the driver and a phone operator at his taxi office suppo0rted his account.
The taxi driver who refused to accept a tenner lathered in kebab juices due to his strict religion says the incident made him feel ‘religiously tainted’.
The court heard a GPS tracker fitted to the car also revealed Pointon’s description of the taxi journey to be untrue.
Pointon broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges when her account was challenged by police
Pointon broke down in tears and asked if she could drop the charges when her account was challenged by police.
She pleaded guilty to perverting justice. Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, from Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time.
She said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined. Yesterday, she was jailed for 16 months.
Judge Christopher Batty told her: ‘Your malicious complaint has done a huge disservice to those seeking justice through the police and courts.’
Pointon said her hopes of becoming a police officer were now ruined. She was jailed for 16 months
The driver described in a statement how the false allegation had caused him to suffer from stress.
The Asian father-of-five told the court through a personal impact statement that he was a practising Muslim – and the accusations had caused him to be shunned.
He said friends and members of his Muslim community in Leeds had refused to speak to him due to the fake claims by Pointon.
He was also banned from entering the homes of his colleagues and friends.
Pointon threw £10 at him when they reached the Hyde Park area but he refused to accept it as it was covered in oil from the kebab
She pleaded guilty to perverting justice. Denise Breen-Lawton, mitigating, said Pointon, from Manchester, had been studying in Leeds at the time
Sophie Pointon pleaded guilty to perverting justice at Leeds Crown Court (pictured) yesterday
The driver, who was stripped of his taxi licence for four weeks during the investigation into the claims, said he was disgusted that the student was the same age as his eldest daughter.
He said: ‘I am now extremely reluctant to take lone females in case I am accused again.
‘The girl who accused me is the same age as my own daughter – I cannot comprehend why she made this allegation.
‘I feel religiously tainted from this, and no help from the police or the courts can help that.
‘Friends stopped speaking to me and letting me in to their homes. People in my community do not even want to be seen with me.’