Perjury charges will be filed against a 15-year-old girl who has recanted her claim that her uncle sexually abused her, police said.
The girl told police she made up the stories because she was angry with her uncle - but she never intended things to go as far as they did."She did not intend for him to end up in jail or prison," West Valley Detective John Klinetop said Wednesday. "She just wanted everybody to be mad at him."
However, the 34-year-old man was arrested and booked into jail and was to have gone on trial in two weeks on a second-degree felony charge of forcible sexual abuse.
The uncle, who asked that his name not be published, said he "went through hell" and spent $2,000 in attorney's fees. But the man's wife believed him and their relationship is intact.
"In this day and age, kids got more power than they know what to do with," the uncle said.
The girl apparently wanted to get back at her uncle because he disapproved of her boyfriend.
"I didn't like the dude and she found some way to get back at me," the man said.
The girl initially told the sexual-abuse stories to her close friends and a sister, swearing them to secrecy.
When the girl's mother learned about it, she took her daughter to the police and things "snowballed," the detective said.
Later, the girl's mother overheard her daughter on the phone telling a friend the story was a hoax. The girl subsequently admitted to police and prosecutors she was lying.
Authorities hope the perjury prosecution sends a message to others who may be tempted to fabricate stories about sexual abuse.
"If you decide you want to make something up and tell police, it may take on a life of its own," Kline-top said.