Suspended jail sentence for woman who made false harassment allegations

A WOMAN has been sentenced for perverting the course of justice after making false allegations that she was being harassed by her partner’s ex-mother-in-law.

Kayla Thomas, 24, from Cambridge, contacted the Metropolitan Police on October 12, 2014, following an altercation in Cambridge on September 15, 2014, between herself and Diane Johnson.

A six-month harassment notice was issued and accepted by Ms Johnson, however she maintained Thomas was the aggressor and that she did not assault her.

On July 3, 2015, Thomas contacted Cambridgeshire police to report an incident which allegedly occurred in Parker’s Piece, Cambridge, on June 26, whereby Ms Johnson had approached her and her partner and was verbally abusive.

The following month Thomas again contacted Cambridgeshire police to report she had been harassed by Ms Johnson on two additional occasions; in St Andrew’s Road, Cambridge, on August 1 and outside her home in Cambridge on August 21.

A further harassment notice was issued to Ms Johnson, however she disputed the allegations and made a formal complaint to police.

She explained she was able to prove her whereabouts on August 21 when she was alleged to have attended Thomas’ home address in her car and was verbally abusive towards her.

Officers launched an investigation into Thomas for perverting the course of justice after Ms Johnson provided a comprehensive account demonstrating she was in London from early afternoon on August 20, 2015 until about 8pm on August 21, 2015. She provided till receipts, bank statements, witness details and a timeline of her actions covering this time period, as well as her location and actions for the following day (August 22).

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data showed Ms Johnson’s car, which Thomas alleged was outside her house on August 21, travelled down the A1 in Bedfordshire at 1.03pm on August 20, hitting Westminster at 8.34pm, Victoria at 9.42pm and Pimlico at 9.49pm.

Evidence showed Ms Johnson was at various locations outside of Cambridgeshire the next day, until she reached her home in Hertfordshire at about 8.15pm.

On January 26 last year (2016), Thomas was interviewed under caution at Parkside Police Station in Cambridge about the allegations made by Ms Johnson, however she maintained that her previous statements and allegations of harassment were correct.

A file was put forward to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who, on September 16 last year, authorised Kayla Thomas to be summonsed to Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on November 15 for perverting the course of justice against Diane Johnson.

On April 4 this year (2017) Thomas appeared at Peterborough Crown Court and pleaded guilty to one charge of perverting the course of justice.

Yesterday (Wednesday, April 26) she appeared at Cambridge Crown Court and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years and a three month curfew, requiring her to remain in her home between 8pm and 8am. Thomas was also handed a ten year restraining order banning her from contacting Ms Johnson and was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and a £100 victim surcharge.