Overview
- Sarah Howie was sentenced to two years in prison and given a five-year restraining order after pleading guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice on Tuesday.
- The false allegations were made in April 2022 when Howie named a man, handed police handwritten notes including one reading “Been raped this morning,” and gave inconsistent accounts in interviews.
- Police used the man’s alibi and CCTV footage to show he was not where Howie said he was, which stopped the case from becoming a wrongful prosecution.
- The wrongly accused man suffered sustained abuse, was assaulted in the street with a hammer, moved away from Grimsby for about three years, and reported long-term damage to his relationships and mental health.
- Howie had prior convictions for similar behaviour, including a suspended sentence in May 2021, and the judge said immediate custody was needed because the offences were serious and motivated by revenge.