Woman sentenced for false rape claim

SANDPOINT — A Priest River woman has been sentenced for falsely claiming to police that she was raped by her former employer last year.

Jennifer Lee Robinson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of making false statements to law enforcement during a pretrial hearing on Feb. 3, court records show.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Debra Heise sentenced Robinson to 60 days in jail with 59 days suspended and credit for one day she served behind bars. A condition of her probation requires her to follow her doctor’s recommendations regarding counseling and medication, according to court records.

Robinson, 29, told Priest River Police she was raped at a home last August. She claimed that the 50-year-old alleged perpetrator struck her, choked her into unconsciousness and raped her.

She later recanted the allegations, the police report said.

In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a misdemeanor domestic battery charge that was pending against her.