In recent weeks, left-wing activists have been pushing a “Believe All Women” narrative. This narrative not only ignores due process, but also reality. Sexual assaults do happen, but so do false accusations. Pointing out false accusations does not take away from supporting sexual assault survivors, because false accusations devalue actual incidents of sexual assaults.
All women should be heard, but not all women should be believed. Some women are more credible than others, and that is a fact. Below are 35 examples of men who were falsely accused. These are cases where either the accuser was charged with a crime or the facts of the case overwhelmingly point to it being false and the accuser has not been named. This list doesn’t even come close to the total number of false accusations that have been made.
Women still should be encouraged to report their assaults and seek justice.
1. Jackie Coakley – Coakley infamously told Rolling Stone that she had been gang-raped by fraternity members at the University of Virginia. In reality, no such gang-rape occurred, and Coakley invented a rapist and used a fake text messaging service to convince her friends he existed in order to make one of them jealous. The accusation was a black mark for the magazine and led to three settlements with those defamed by Coakley’s accusation.
2. Ligia Filler – Filler told police that her husband, Vladek, sexually assaulted her and their children while the couple was going through a bitter divorce. Vladek spent years in jail until he was exonerated in 2015. He sued the people who handled his case and settled for $375,000.
3. ‘The Mean Girls’ From Seneca High School – K.S. and C.S. claimed a male classmate sexually assaulted them, and their friends, Megan Villegas, E.S., and H.R. backed up their claims. Three of the girls admitted they lied, but the boy had to leave school after being bullied as a “predator.” One of the girls said she accused him simply because she didn’t like him.
4. Jane Roe of Allegheny College – John Doe and Jane Roe (both pseudonyms) had previously shared a bed. One night, the two engaged in sexual activity. Jane continued to send John friendly texts about their “relationship,” but John wasn’t interested. After Jane saw him at a party with another woman, Jane accused him of sexual assault. The college expelled Doe but later settled.
5. Jane Roe’s friend of Colorado State University-Pueblo – A friend of Jane Roe saw hickeys on her neck and accused Grant Neal (who used his real name in his lawsuit) of sexual assault. Jane Roe tried to stop the accusation, and was recorded by Neal telling people involved in the investigation that she “wasn’t raped.” Neal was expelled anyway but settled with the school.
6. Jessica Gallagher – Gallagher met a man on a dating app. After he refused to give her a ride home, she told police he abducted, blindfolded, and raped her. She was charged with filing a false report.
7. Jane Roe of the University of Colorado – Jane Roe accused John Doe (both pseudonyms) of sexual assault, but admitted to university investigators that she “may have stretched the truth” because she was “pissed off” at John for not wanting to date her after their encounter. She added that she wanted “the s*** to be scared out of him.” The university later settled with John Doe for mishandling the investigation.
8. Crystal Mangum – Mangum claimed she was raped by three Duke Lacrosse players after stripping for them at an off-campus party. She made up the claim to avoid going to jail and losing her child, and was aided in her deception by a district attorney hoping to get elected in the upcoming election. All three men were exonerated of all charges. Several years later, Mangum was convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing her boyfriend.
9. Tawana Brawley – Brawley claimed she was raped by four white men as a hate crime in 1987. Rev. Al Sharpton helped make her a household name, but a jury concluded that Brawley faked the crime so she wouldn’t get in trouble at home.
10. Jane Roe of South East London – This woman, whose name is still being protected, accused London resident Liam Allan of sexual assault because she didn’t “enjoy” the sex with him. The case against Allan was dismissed after two years when it was discovered the prosecution withheld 40,000 text messages from his accuser asking him for more sexual encounters and saying “it wasn’t against my will or anything.”
11. Sophie Pointon of England – Pointon falsely accused her taxi driver of sexually assaulting her in the back of his car. The taxi driver denied the assault and was able to corroborate his story with a voice recording from the taxi company’s phone operator and a GPS tracker. He also said Pointon was extremely intoxicated and became aggressive after he refused to take her £10 covered in kebab oil. After Pointon made the false claim to the police, the taxi driver was detained for six hours and unable to work for weeks. Pointon was sentenced to 16 months in jail.
12. Nikki Yovino of Sacred Heart University – Yovino falsely accused two football players of raping her in a bathroom during an off-campus party. Both men claimed they left the school after they were dismissed from their team and had their scholarships revoked, though the school disputed this. Three months later she admitted her claims were false. Yovino was charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and was sentenced to three years in prison, which will be suspended after just one year in jail. She also received three years’ probation.
13. Susan Shannon – In 2013, Shannon accused Col. David “Wil” Riggins of sexually assaulting her in 1986 while they were both cadets at West Point. The allegations caused Riggins to lose a promotion to general, leading him to retire. A jury heard both sides and sided with Riggins, awarding him $8.4 million in damages.
14. Mary Zolkowski of Delta College – Zolkowski claimed she was raped in a parking lot at her college. Her mother then called the school to report the incident and Zolkowski filed a formal complaint. She later confessed she fabricated the incident. She was sentenced to 45 days in jail and given two years of probation.
15. Jemma Beale of London – Beale accused six men of sexual assault and nine of rape. One man served jail time. Police reportedly spent 6,400 hours investigating her claim at a cost of £250,000. Beale was found guilty of four counts of perjury and four more counts of perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
16. Kate Woodhead of Surrey – Woodhead accused her ex-boyfriend of drugging her and then raping her in their home. She then transferred ownership of his sports car, motorcycle, and rental home to her name and stole £23,500 worth of property. Her ex-boyfriend ended up losing his job. Woodhead was sentenced to three years in jail.
17. Nicole Marie Hosmer – Hosmer told police she was kidnapped when a man got into her vehicle and tried to rape her. She later told police she didn’t know why she lied and that the man did not make sexual advances. Hosmer pleaded no contest and was ordered to pay slightly more than $500 and complete 50 hours of community service.
18. Jane Roe of London – Connor Fitzgerald was accused of rape and later had his home raided. He was arrested and initially denied bail. Fitzgerald said in an interview with The Sun that he felt like he “was guilty until proven innocent,” and that he was “scared to even leave the house because everyone thinks I’m a rapist.” The charges were eventually dropped after text messages emerged showing the accuser (whose name is still being protected) said she enjoyed the sex and another where she said: “I’m not just going to mess up his life, I’m going to ruin it lol.”
19. Hannah Sandover – Sandover accused her ex-boyfriend of drugging and raping her in his car her after he didn’t want to rekindle their relationship. She later admitted that she fabricated the story. Sandover’s ex-boyfriend was arrested and kept in custody for more than five hours. She later admitted to a charge of wasting police time.
20. Jane Roe of the University of Southern California – USC student Jane Roe (pseudonym) accused John Doe of raping her after they had sex in her dorm. Doe was charged with rape. The case was dismissed after the judge reviewed video from the nightclub and the women’s dorm that showed the woman leading Doe from the club, taking his photograph, getting into an Uber with him, and allowing him into her dorm. The judge said he believed it was consensual sex and that there was a “very strong indication” that the woman initiated the encounter.
21. Jane Roe in Vegas – Jane Roe (pseudonym) accused four dentists of raping her in a hotel suite at the Wynn after meeting one at the hotel bar. She claimed she was pushed into a chair and then each man took turns raping her as she tried to resist. State prosecutors later dropped all charges after video evidence was reviewed in a hearing that lasted less than a minute.
22. Jane Roe in Queens – VanDyke Perry and Gregory Counts were convicted of rape, sodomy, and kidnapping in 1992. Jane Roe (pseudonym) accused the men of forcing her into a vehicle at knifepoint and assaulting and raping her. Semen was found in her underwear, but after a DNA test proved that it was not from Perry or Counts, she claimed it was from consensual sex with her boyfriend. Perry spent 11 years in prison and Counts spent 26 years. The woman later admitted that the incident “never happened,” and that her boyfriend pressured her to make the false accusations. According to the Associated Press, she will not face charges because the statute of limitations has expired.
23. Wanetta Gibson – Gibson accused football star Brian Banks of kidnapping and raping her and sued the Long Beach Unified School District, winning a $1.5 million settlement. Banks lost his scholarship to USC and served five years in prison. Gibson later admitted she made up the story, and was ordered to pay a $2.6 million judgement. Banks was later signed to the Atlanta Falcons but was eventually cut from the team.
24. Emma Blunden of Reading – Blundon told police she was raped at a hostel and attacked by three men at a house two years later. Four men were arrested over both accusations but all were freed. Blunden was convicted of two counts of perverting justice.
25. Leanne Black of Cwmbran, South Wales – Black made several claims including that she was drugged and raped and another that she was kidnapped and molested. Between 2005 and 2010 she made four allegations of rape. She was arrested after claiming her boyfriend raped her while she was asleep. The boyfriend was arrested. Black later admitted to police that she made up the accusations. She was sentenced to two years in jail.
26. Cassandra Kennedy – At the age of 11, Kennedy accused her father of raping her. Her father was sentenced to prison for 15 years but only served 9 years after Kennedy admitted she lied. Kennedy said she made the accusation because she was upset about her parents’ divorce. All charges were dropped. No legal action was taken against Kennedy because Cowlitz County Prosecutor Sue Baur said authorities didn’t want to discourage sexual assault victims from coming forward.
27. Leyla Ibrahim – Ibrahim claimed she was sexually assaulted by two youths while walking home after slashing her own body, hair, and clothing. Four men were arrested and held in custody for more than 60 hours after a manhunt costing £150,000. One man attempted self-harm. She was reportedly upset her friends did not give her a ride home. She was sentenced to three years in prison for perverting the course of justice.
28. Elizabeth Coast – At the age of 10, Coast told her mother she was raped after she was caught looking at pornography online. Coast blamed her 14-year-old neighbor, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, though he served only four. Coast admitted to her lie and was sentenced to two months in jail – but that time would be served on weekends.
29. Kimberly Anne Reese – Reese had consensual sex with a man and then falsely accused him of raping her. She later admitted to police she lied about the assault. She was charged with a misdemeanor count of making a false report
30. Danielle M. Greene of Keene State – Greene claimed she was raped by a fellow student at Keene State. Police later determined her report was false after interviewing her, the accused male, witnesses, and viewing surveillance from the college. She was arrested and charged with making a false report to law enforcement.
31. Jane Roe of Brooklyn – Jane Roe (pseudonym) claimed a masked black man cut her blouse and bra with a knife and raped her in a park. Police spent hours searching for evidence to support her claim and even posted fliers. Hours later she claimed she made it up.
32. Jeannine M. Risley – Risley claimed she was raped by an intruder while staying in a guest portion of her boss’ home. She said an unknown man pulled her from the bed and raped her in the bathroom at knifepoint. Investigators checked her fitness activity on her fitness watch and found that she lied about being in bed. Prior to the attack, her boss reportedly told her she would no longer be the temporary director of the company. Risley was charged with making false reports to law enforcement, false alarms to public safety, and tampering with evidence due to allegedly placing a knife at the scene and overturning furniture. Risley was ordered to complete two years of probation and 100 hours of community service. Her record would also reportedly be cleared if she complied.
33. Danmell Ndonye – In 2009, Ndonye claimed she was gang-raped by five men in a communal shower at a Hofstra University dorm. Her story quickly unraveled when video footage showed her to be a willing participant. She made up the claim because she had cheated on her boyfriend and didn’t want him to know or for her classmates to think she was easy.
34. Carolyn Bryant – In 1955, Bryant accused 14-year-old Emmett Till of whistling and making sexual advances toward her at a grocery store in Mississippi. He was kidnapped, tortured and shot. His body was later found in the Tallahatchie River. The incident became a focal point during the civil rights movement. In 2017, it was revealed that Bryant admitted in an interview that she had lied about him grabbing her waist and uttering obscenities. She also added, “nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him.”
35. Norma McCorvey – After becoming pregnant with her third child, McCorvey’s friend encouraged her to claim she had been raped so she could get a legal abortion. Her case to obtain an abortion created the landmark Roe v Wade decision which legalized abortion. She later admitted she lied, watch below.