Chatfield Woman Sentenced For Making Up Rape Claim
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) A Chatfield woman has pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge for making up a story about being raped and assaulted that put a man in jail.
37-year-old Melissa Molitor was also granted a stay of adjudication, which means the conviction on the stalking charge will be removed from her record if she successfully completes the terms of her sentence of two years on probation. Molitor was also ordered to pay a $900 fine or perform 90 hours of community work service.
She was charged in March 2015 for reporting the bogus crime the previous September. She told investigators she was driving home from work that night when a man, who had hidden in the back seat of her car, forced her to go to a rural area where he threatened her with a knife and then physically and sexually assaulted her. Molitor told deputies she blacked out during the assault and when she came to, the man was gone and she called 911.
The man she identified as her attacker was arrested and spent a weekend in jail.
During a later interview, investigators became suspicious and Molitor admitted she made up the story to “ get justice “ for prior hardships she had experienced with the man.