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Runaway Bride Indicted for Making Up Story
If convicted, Jennifer Wilbanks could get up to six years in prison
Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks was indicted Wednesday for allegedly filing a false police report claiming she had been kidnapped, charges that could mean up to six years in prison.
A grand jury indicted the 32-year-old woman on one count of making a false police report, a misdemeanor, and one count of false statement, a felony. The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, said Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter. The other count carries a penalty of up to a year.
''We believe this is a reasonable next step in the case. We believe the grand jury made the right decision,'' Porter said.
''At some point you just can't lie to the police,'' he said.
Wilbanks, 32, disappeared from her Duluth home on April 26 after claiming that she was going for a jog.
While Georgia authorities looked for her, the woman traveled to Las Vegas by bus and then to Albuquerque, N.M. There, she called authorities with a story about having been abducted and sexually assaulted.
But under questioning, she recanted and said she fled Georgia because of unspecified personal issues. She returned to Georgia on April 30, the day she was to have been married in a lavish ceremony with 600 guests.
Porter has said Wilbanks could face a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report or a felony charge of making false statements for telling authorities she had been kidnapped. Wilbanks' lawyer has said she doesn't think her client should be charged with a crime.
Her disappearance prompted a massive search and nationwide publicity. City, county and state officials spent about $50,000 looking for her.
Several state and county agencies already said they will not ask her to reimburse them for a total of $10,000 spent in additional search costs. But the city of Duluth still is seeking repayment of about $40,000 and Mayor Shirley Lassetter said her city attorney has been in negotiations with Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain.
Sartain has said she does not think Wilbanks committed a crime in Gwinnett County. Authorities in Albuquerque have already said they will not charge Wilbanks.
''The citizens of the county will be ill-served by an attempted prosecution,'' Sartain said.
Sartain did not immediately return a phone call or e-mail seeking comment on Wednesday.
Source: AP