A mum who wrongly accused an innocent man of attempting to abduct her child has been convicted.
Kerry Lount, 37, of Ford Rise, Glen Parva, admitted making a false statement following an incident in Wigston town centre in October 2016.
Lount contacted the police to inform them that a man had approached her young son and attempted to abduct him.
She then circulated an image of the man on social media with details of the alleged incident.
An investigation was launched by the force which determined that no offence had taken place and, in fact, Lount had fabricated the report.
Lount pleaded guilty to making a false statement at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (Monday 22 October) at Leicester Crown Court. She was given an eight-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Lount was also charged with perverting the course of justice. This charge will lie on file.
DC Nick Robbins, the investigating officer, said: “Lount had no hesitation in wrongfully accusing an innocent man of such a serious offence.
He had only been in the country for a matter of days when this incident occurred and was left extremely distressed by what happened.
“We are pleased Lount has pleaded guilty and we hope the victim in this case can put the events of October 2016 behind him.
“We would like to take this opportunity to remind people how seriously we take false reports.
It’s not just the impact it has on those involved but the time it takes for officers to investigate when they could be dealing with genuine reports.”