A sheriff has shown mercy to a young university student who cried rape after she claimed she was blackmailed into making a sex tape.
Melissa Jack was admonished for making the false accusation – and Sheriff Graeme Napier told the Crown he thought they had prosecuted the wrong person.
The court previously heard that Jack agreed to be filmed having consensual sex with law student Matthew Williamson after she claimed he threatened to post naked pictures of her online.
The 20-year-old then lied to police and said she had been raped by him as she hoped the officers would be able to help retrieve the indecent footage and pictures of her.
After she gave a lengthy statement to officers they cautioned and detained Mr Williamson in connection with the alleged sex attack, which Jack later admitted she had invented.
Yesterday, Sheriff Napier said there was no public interest in prosecuting the Aberdeen University student and said she had been a victim of some of the most “crass and vulgar behaviour” he had heard of.
He also said that in his opinion, the Crown had chosen the wrong person to bring charges against.
He said: “The Crown has accepted that she was blackmailed. She has been exposed to some of the most crass and vulgar behaviour I have come across recently.
“The fact that anyone considers it appropriate to encourage her to take part in a video of intercourse against the background that he was going to expose naked photos of her beggars belief.
“Especially if it is correct that the person who carried out all these threats and who was the subject of these rape allegations studies law at Aberdeen University.
“It’s clearly a matter for the Crown which case they choose to prosecute but it’s difficult for me to see where the public interest is in prosecuting this young lady.”
However, last night the Crown Office stood by its decision to bring Jack to court.
A spokesperson said: “The Crown rightly takes false accusations of rape very seriously, and after careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the case, Crown counsel decided that Melissa Jack should be prosecuted.”
Aberdeen Sheriff Court previously heard that Jack only agreed to allow Mr Williamson to film them on his mobile phone as she was scared her family and friends would see the intimate pictures on Facebook.
Fiscal depute Anne Macdonald said that Jack, of 38 Cordiner Place, Aberdeen, then went to the police to ask them for help in obtaining the pictures and footage.
And when she was giving a statement on October 4, 2012, she told officers she had not wanted to have sex while they were filming it.
Police interviewed Mr Williamson but did not officially arrest him and he was released for officers to make further inquiries.
When Jack was questioned for a second time she admitted she had been a willing participant but said she scared the footage would end up online.
Miss Macdonald said when she was interviewed by police about the false accusation of rape, Jack said: “I agreed to the video. I realise now that posting pictures on Facebook was minimal to what I have done.
“But because I made a sex tape, I came to the police to tell them and I was worried about not only the pictures going on Facebook but also the video we made that night.
“I wanted to tell them that I was being threatened and blackmailed.”
Jack declined to comment last night and Mr Williamson was unavailable for comment.
