KEY POINTS:
A South Auckland woman accused of a false rape complaint was granted name suppression at a brief appearance in court this morning.
The 41-year-old appeared subdued and tearful and entered no plea to a charge of making a false statement.
She was granted bail with conditions that include a requirement she use no alcohol or illegal drugs and she will return to court on May 3.
The court heard the regional forensic psychiatrist who had examined the woman had mentioned a dependency on drugs and alcohol, and the justices of the peace sitting at Papakura District Court said a Waitemata District Health Board letter indicated "there are matters that need to be dealt with".
Her lawyer, Colin Amery, asked for her name to be suppressed because a family member had just learnt they had a terminal illness and had not been told of the charges against the woman.
"That could be a shock," Mr Amery told the court.
Police did not oppose the request for name suppression and Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone, who led the investigation, refused to comment on the matter outside court.
The woman ran a media gauntlet when she left the court and was escorted by police the 100m to Papakura police station. She made no comment.
Yesterday, fear and apprehension gave way to anger among Papakura residents after the woman's claim that she was raped by an armed intruder was revealed to be false.
Mr Grimstone yesterday said that after "a very extensive and thorough investigation", the three-day inquiry had been ended and the woman referred to "the appropriate health professionals".
"The public need not fear any gun-toting rapist," he said. "This attack simply did not happen."
Maximum penalties for the offence are three months in prison or a $2000 fine.
The woman claimed she was raped over 2 1/2 hours in her Duke St flat on Thursday afternoon by a Maori or Pacific Island man wearing a suit and claiming to be a police officer "conducting routine inquiries".
At its peak, the inquiry involved 30 police officers, who spent "quite significant" hours on the case, police spokesman Kev Loughlin said yesterday.
The extreme nature of the woman's claims had prompted police, from the outset, to investigate her and her allegations.
"I think the nature of the allegations that were being made necessitated a dual focus on the investigation," he said.
Mr Grimstone refused to speculate on why the woman made the false complaint, and would not comment on whether her claims had been triggered by recent negative publicity about police conduct.
"It's a sad and tragic case, and she has got some issues, to say the least."
News that the attack did not happen was no surprise to the woman's neighbour Roline van Wyk.
"I hate to be a doubting Thomas, but there was just something about her.
"I couldn't believe that something like this could happen."
Ms van Wyk said she had spoken to the woman a couple of times, and "she seemed pleasant enough".
But other neighbours spoken to by the Herald were angry because of the distress and inconvenience the woman's false complaint had caused.
"It makes me angry for the simple reason that those other people in those units [where the woman lived] must be absolutely livid," said Rose Lavell.
"Look what she has done to the community around here."
Another man, who did not want to be named, said the woman's actions were unacceptable.
"The police have been chasing around for somebody, and if it didn't happen, well, what a waste of time.
"I can't really see the point in it. What was she after?"
Another Papakura resident said the woman's actions could make it harder for genuine sex attack victims to speak up.
"What about all the ladies where it's genuine? That's shocking, it really is."
Rape Prevention Education director Kim McGregor said last night false rape complaints made it "very difficult" for those making genuine allegations.
The number of rapes was "hugely under-reported" - only about 10 per cent of victims laid official complaints.
False rape complaints were often "a call for help" and could indicate some type of past trauma, Dr McGregor said.
Victoria University criminologist Dr Jan Jordan said: "If it really is a false complaint, then it just helps to fuel the myth that most women who make complaints of rape to the police are lying. That's really unfortunate.
"It feeds into what's been called a culture of scepticism over rape allegations.
"Often the police will think it means that women are naturally devious and lying or vengeful, rather than perhaps looking at what the motivations are."
But some false complaints were made by women who had been sexually abused at an earlier time.
"Often they are trying to draw attention to the stress that they are feeling underneath, but they are doing it in a very indirect way ... that means no individual gets held responsible."
Little research had been done in New Zealand on what proportion of rape complaints were false.
But in Britain, government research put it at about 9 to 12 per cent - "although many detectives still think the figure is much higher than that".
Dr Jordan has previously told the Herald that police attitudes to rape stymie the investigation of many women's sexual assault complaints.
Elaborate hoaxes like the Papakura case were relatively rare but tended to receive extensive publicity and endured in police folklore, she said.
Waikato University senior psychology lecturer Dr Neville Robertson said such complaints were extremely rare.
Day by day
* Friday:
Police say a Papakura woman was "stripped naked and sexually violated" the previous day by an armed man wearing a suit who tricked his way into her flat. Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone describes the attack as "very disgusting and despicable".
* Saturday:
Police say the attacker approached the woman claiming to be a plain-clothes policeman. Mr Grimstone says the masquerade is "an extremely sinister development", and urges people to check the credentials of anyone claiming to be a police officer.
* Sunday:
Morning: Police say the attack was "a well planned and thought out criminal act", in which the offender asked for his victim by name.
Afternoon: Mr Grimstone reveals: "The public need not fear any gun-toting rapist. This attack simply did not happen."
- with NZPA
