Cab drunk jailed over sex claims
Woman admits she falsely accused driver of attack
A WOMAN who falsely claimed a taxi driver raped her has been jailed for 13 months.
Fiona Scanlan admitted last month that she made up the allegation that she was sexually assaulted after she left a wedding.
The 40-year-old told police taxi driver William Millar had taken her to a quiet area and tried to rape her – but she was caught out by a GPS tracker installed in his cab.
However, the allegation led to Mr Millar, 56, being held by police for 18 hours and having to undergo medical examinations before being released without charge.
Scanlan’s solicitor, Ian Moir, withdrew from acting for her after
‘She has put women in danger’
she claimed to social workers that she had, in fact, been attacked.
Yesterday, solicitor Eddie Gilroy represented her when she appeared for sentencing and told Glasgow Sheriff Court: ‘She indicated to me that the plea was properly tendered.’
Jailing Scanlan, from Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Sheriff John McCormick 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, Mr Millar, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, said he did not think the sentence was long enough. He added: ‘Taxi drivers are vulnerable, hence the reason I got CCTV installed. She’s put women in danger because now drivers are not wanting to pick up single, drunk females.’
An earlier hearing was told that in March 2014 Scanlan had been at a wedding at Crutherland House Hotel, in East Kilbride, where she was described as ‘very drunk’.
She asked for a taxi home and Mr Millar collected her, despite initially refusing to do so. But when Scanlan became abusive the driver decided he wanted her out of his vehicle.
However, Scanlan later turned up at Cathcart Police Office in Glasgow and claimed she had been the victim of a sex attack in his vehicle.
She described a detailed assault after the driver had apparently pulled over into ‘a secluded area’.
But officers were wary of ‘inconsistencies’ in her claims and after her lies were revealed Scanlan was detained by police in October 2014.
Mr Gilroy said Scanlan, now unemployed, has health problems and had lost out on work because of the court case, adding: ‘She will almost certainly lose her nursing registration.’