Police in Port Wentworth say a local woman was sentenced to probation and community service last month after making a false report about a home invasion and sexual assault.
Mary Steptoe told police in March 2013 that she had been the victim of a sexual assault and home invasion on South Coastal Highway, said Port Wentworth police Sgt. Brian Phinney. City detectives and Georgia Bureau of Investigation sketch artists released a drawing of the described suspect and distributed in the community.
Many in Port Wentworth were concerned for their wellbeing, and police followed many leads searching for a sexual predator, Phinney said. But as the investigation unfolded, he said, detectives discovered holes in the Steptoe’s story, and evidence recovered from the scene was not consistent with either a sexual assault or the chain of events she described.
The lead investigator presented evidence to a Chatham County grand jury in August 2013, and the grand jury voted to indict Steptoe on one count of false report of a crime and three counts of false statements and writings to law enforcement officials.
After Steptoe was indicted, she went on the run, Phinney said. In September of this year, however, she returned to Chatham County and was arrested Sept. 9 in Garden City. At a Sept. 26 hearing in Chatham County Superior Court, Steptoe pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to two years probation, a $500 fine and 80 hours of community service, Phinney said.
When investigations reveal that crimes have been falsely reported, Phinney said, those people will be prosecuted.