Gloucestershire woman guilty of false rape claims

Gail Sherwood also claimed a man had been stalking her

A woman from Gloucestershire who falsely claimed to have been raped has been found guilty of three counts of perverting the course of justice.

Gail Sherwood, 52, from Thrupp, near Stroud, twice claimed she had been raped, and also accused a man of stalking her.

Bristol Crown Court heard she had been found tied up and sent text messages to friends saying she was in trouble.

She was released on bail and is due to be sentenced on 4 March.

Sherwood told the court she had been stalked by a man who she had been involved in a minor road crash with on 12 April 2008.

This led to the arrest of the man, who was detained for 20 hours before being released without charge.

What is most upsetting is the way a false claim undermines people whose lives have been devastated by genuine crimes Det Ch Insp Paul Shorrock

Sherwood told police she was dragged off to woods by a man with a weapon who then raped her, as she returned to her car from walking her dogs on 25 April 2008.

On 1 June 2008, she claimed she was hit over the head, taken to a remote spot in her car and raped.

On one occasion, she was found naked from the waist down with gaffer tape over her mouth and her hands tied behind her. A police helicopter found her half-naked behind a fence on another occasion.

In court, Sherwood said police had lied to her and had manipulated the evidence. But police had installed a covert CCTV camera outside her house, which proved that she had not been abducted, but had left by herself.

On Friday, a jury found her guilty of all three counts of perverting the course of justice.

Speaking outside the court, Det Ch Insp Paul Shorrock said: "Ms Sherwood has wasted significant police time and resources with these false allegations but what is most upsetting is the way a false claim such as this completely undermines those people whose lives have been devastated by genuine crimes of this nature."