A detective has been left to pick up the pieces after his life was destroyed by a false rape allegation against him. Halina Khan lied that she had been sexually assaulted by the Leicestershire police officer despite never having met him.
He was subjected to a humiliating and unnecessary investigation that went on for five weeks before the 40-year-old’s web of lies collapsed around her. Khan has now been jailed for two years and three months after admitting to trying to pervert the course of justice.
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Her victim was at home with his wife and son when his colleagues turned up at his home to say there had been a complaint made against him. He then had to give samples for analysis and was interviewed by police officers outside his police area.
What followed caused an immense strain on his marriage and he ended up taking six months off work with depression and anxiety.
He said he was ‘completely stunned’ by the allegations and said that his world “fell apart”. The victim has now returned to work but he says it has affected his relationship with his employers. He said: ‘I can’t explain why it affected me as it did.
If I hadn’t been able to prove my innocence, I’d have lost my liberty.’ Khan, from Salford, Greater Manchester, accused the detective during a police investigation into an alleged car theft. She said that her ex had taken her vehicle from the Regency Hotel in Leicester. But when police arrived she changed her story saying that she was an escort and a client had taken the car.
She pointed to a red mark on the floor, implying that the person had been hurt. As a result, Khan was arrested on suspicion of causing injury. She threw racist abuse at one of the police officers and shouted that she had been raped by the detective the previous night at the hotel. She used his name, despite never having met him, because he had previously been involved in an investigation into her second ex-husband in 2011.
Khan later said at the police station: “I made it up, there, I made it up.” However, she refused to make a statement or sign an officer’s notebook confirming that her claim was true so the force had no alternative but to investigate her claim. She changed her story again, denying that she had made up a rape allegation, adding that she was being sarcastic, Metro reported.
Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described it as “a wicked crime” which had serious consequences for the victim and his family. She added that false claims like this affect public confidence. She said: “I’m told you’re remorseful, although there’s no evidence of that other than your guilty pleas.” She added: “Rape is a profoundly hideous crime which all should find repulsive.” The court heard that Khan had two previous convictions for incidents of racially abusing police officers.
Mr Toor said Khan had previously encountered domestic abuse and suffered from depression as well as a “complex post-traumatic stress disorder”. She had a drinking problem and consumed “at least one bottle of vodka” before making the false rape claim, the court was told.
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