Liar jailed
Fiona Scanlon told cops taxi driver tried to rape her
A Rutherglen woman who falsely accused a taxi driver of raping her has been jailed for 13 months.
Lying Fiona Scanlan admitted making up the allegation she was sexually assaulted after she left a wedding in March 2014.
A Rutherglen woman who falsely accused a taxi driver of raping her has been jailed for 13 months.
Lying Fiona Scanlan admitted making up the allegation she was sexually assaulted after she left a wedding in March 2014.
Victim William Millar was in court to see Scanlan jailed.
But the 56-year-old from East Kilbride said: “I’m relieved to a certain extent – personally I don’t think it was long enough.”
Scanlan last month admitted making up an allegation of sexual assault after she left a wedding in March 2014 at the Crutherland House Hotel.
She told officers that her taxi driver had taken her to a quiet area and tried to rape her – but was caught out due to the EKCO Taxis cabbie’s GPS tracker.
The allegation led to the innocent driver being held by police for 18 hours and having to take part in intimate examinations.
Scanlan’s solicitor Ian Moir withdrew from acting for her after she told social workers that she had in fact been attacked.
But Eddie Gilroy, who was representing her last week, told the court: “She indicated to me that the plea was properly tendered and she now accepts the terms of the narrative.”
Jailing Scanlan for 13 months, sheriff John McCormick said it was an “anxious case” and said: “To accuse someone of rape is to accuse that person of one of the most serious crimes.”
He added: “To admit that the allegation was false might discourage others who have been sexually assaulted in other circumstances from coming forward.”
Outside court, William said: “Hopefully it will send out a message that this kind of thing can’t be allowed to happen.
“Taxi drivers are vulnerable – hence the reason I got CCTV installed.
“To a certain extent she’s put women in danger, because now drivers are not wanting to pick up single drunk females.”
The court heard at an earlier hearing that Scanlan had been at a wedding where she was described as “very drunk”.
She later asked for a taxi home and it was Mr Millar who arrived. He collected her despite initially refusing to.
But, soon into the journey, Scanlan started mouthing off at the driver.
The court heard she branded him a “d******d” and a “w*****”.
Scanlan then ranted: “I am a nurse...you are nothing but a f****** psycho.”
Fed-up William eventually decided he wanted Scanlan out of his car.
However, Scanlan turned up at the city’s Cathcart Police Office and claimed she had been the victim of a sex attack in William’s car.
She went on to describe a detailed assault after the driver had apparently pulled over into “a secluded area”.
Scanlan, from Rutherglen, said William tried to have sex with her before bizarrely dropping her off at the police station.
Officers were wary of “inconsistencies” in her claims.
However, the driver was still held that morning and kept in police custody for 18 hours as he was quizzed about the accusations.
William was also made to go through a number of medical examinations.
The GPS tracker in the driver’s car was then checked as part of the probe.
It showed that Scanlan’s claim he had gone to a quiet area before attacking her was wrong.
William was released without any charge. Scanlan went on to be detained by police in October 2014 after she was found to be lying.
The court heard the cabbie described what happened to him as “one of the most embarrassing things in my life”.
William, now working for Kelvin Kabs, begged his bosses to get a camera fitted in his vehicle to avoid similar false allegations being made in the future.
Mr Gilroy said Scanlan – now unemployed – has health problems and had lost out on work because of court proceedings.
He added: “She will almost certainly lose her nursing registration, that means losing her livelihood for the foreseeable.”