Woman charged with lying about rape
Thursday May 8, 2008 6:03:46pm
LAFAYETTE, Ga. -- Authorities on Thursday arrested a woman, who claimed she was raped by a man impersonating a police officer, with lying to police.
Crystal N. Snider, 23, of Lookout Mountain has been charge with false report of a crime, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said.
She was arrested Thursday afternoon and booked into the Walker County jail, Wilson said.
Snider claimed she was raped after she was stopped on Nickajack Road in Walker County on April 25.
She has been released on bond and is scheduled to appear in Walker County State Court on June 7, Wilson said.
She told police that the man who raped her was impersonating a police officer.
According to Wilson, Snider falsified the entire claim of her being raped by two police imposters.
“We are aware of the motive during the investigation and during the interview of Mrs. Snider. We determined why she did that, but we are not prepared at this time to release the motive. There is some issues that we just don’t feel comfortable with at this point, but law enforcement is fully aware of why she did it,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, there are no additional charges for Snider, other than the one count of filing a false report of a crime.
“In Georgia, it is a misdemeanor when you report a false report of a crime, even a crime this serious and this was a very serious matter. We took it very serious. We had three detectives working it for the last two weeks and because the allegation of someone impersonating police, we take that very seriously,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, there were reasons that re-directed detectives in this area and they were able to determine that Snider had completely falsified the crime.
Asked what this false report would cost, Wilson said, “It cost the salary of at least three detectives for two weeks. They were pretty well assigned to this one case predominantly for that three-week period of time. Of course, if they hadn’t been on that case, they would have been on another case I guess.”
“From the very first day, we were seeking the truth and we wanted to find out the truth and sometimes the truth is not pleasant. In this case it was disturbing when we found out the truth was that she had made this story up. This story generated a lot of uneasiness, a lot of fear amongst the people living in that community. That is a very difficult thing and all I can say is the sheriff’s office wanted to find the truth and we have found the truth as unpleasant as it may be,” Wilson said. “Hopefully this will ease people’s minds in the community. I hope they will also see that we had good, well-trained detectives working on this case and that is what their job is to seek out the truth in all investigations. We had some good people working this case and I commend them for their good work.”
The four detectives that worked on this case were Lt. Burt Cagle, Sgt. Caroline Cobb, Sgt. Mike Hinch and Sgt. Anthony Gilleland.
According to Wilson, additional detectives spent time on this specific case as well.
Snider told local authorities she was raped at gunpoint on April 25 by a man impersonating a police officer.
The victim said she was driving along Ga. 341 in the Wallaceville shortly before midnight on Thursday, April 24, when a vehicle began following her.
When the woman turned onto Nickajack Road, blue lights were activated on the vehicle and she stopped on the side of the road.
She claimed to have been approached by a white male and ordered out of her vehicle. Square blue lights were said to have been in the grill of the man’s vehicle. The car was described as a medium to large passenger civilian vehicle.
She claimed to have been ordered by a white male to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint. She claimed that the man held the gun on her while another white male raped her.
The supposed man with the gun was described as 5 feet, 8 inches, with wavy to curly dark brown hair, slender, and in his early twenties.
The claimed “rapist” was described as 6-feet, 2 inches, with a slender build and dark hair, but no facial hair.
Snider claimed that the two men were dressed in civilian clothes.
Snider was taken to Hutcheson Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
Crystal N. Snider, 23, of Lookout Mountain has been charge with false report of a crime, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said.
She was arrested Thursday afternoon and booked into the Walker County jail, Wilson said.
Snider claimed she was raped after she was stopped on Nickajack Road in Walker County on April 25.
She has been released on bond and is scheduled to appear in Walker County State Court on June 7, Wilson said.
She told police that the man who raped her was impersonating a police officer.
According to Wilson, Snider falsified the entire claim of her being raped by two police imposters.
“We are aware of the motive during the investigation and during the interview of Mrs. Snider. We determined why she did that, but we are not prepared at this time to release the motive. There is some issues that we just don’t feel comfortable with at this point, but law enforcement is fully aware of why she did it,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, there are no additional charges for Snider, other than the one count of filing a false report of a crime.
“In Georgia, it is a misdemeanor when you report a false report of a crime, even a crime this serious and this was a very serious matter. We took it very serious. We had three detectives working it for the last two weeks and because the allegation of someone impersonating police, we take that very seriously,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, there were reasons that re-directed detectives in this area and they were able to determine that Snider had completely falsified the crime.
Asked what this false report would cost, Wilson said, “It cost the salary of at least three detectives for two weeks. They were pretty well assigned to this one case predominantly for that three-week period of time. Of course, if they hadn’t been on that case, they would have been on another case I guess.”
“From the very first day, we were seeking the truth and we wanted to find out the truth and sometimes the truth is not pleasant. In this case it was disturbing when we found out the truth was that she had made this story up. This story generated a lot of uneasiness, a lot of fear amongst the people living in that community. That is a very difficult thing and all I can say is the sheriff’s office wanted to find the truth and we have found the truth as unpleasant as it may be,” Wilson said. “Hopefully this will ease people’s minds in the community. I hope they will also see that we had good, well-trained detectives working on this case and that is what their job is to seek out the truth in all investigations. We had some good people working this case and I commend them for their good work.”
The four detectives that worked on this case were Lt. Burt Cagle, Sgt. Caroline Cobb, Sgt. Mike Hinch and Sgt. Anthony Gilleland.
According to Wilson, additional detectives spent time on this specific case as well.
Snider told local authorities she was raped at gunpoint on April 25 by a man impersonating a police officer.
The victim said she was driving along Ga. 341 in the Wallaceville shortly before midnight on Thursday, April 24, when a vehicle began following her.
When the woman turned onto Nickajack Road, blue lights were activated on the vehicle and she stopped on the side of the road.
She claimed to have been approached by a white male and ordered out of her vehicle. Square blue lights were said to have been in the grill of the man’s vehicle. The car was described as a medium to large passenger civilian vehicle.
She claimed to have been ordered by a white male to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint. She claimed that the man held the gun on her while another white male raped her.
The supposed man with the gun was described as 5 feet, 8 inches, with wavy to curly dark brown hair, slender, and in his early twenties.
The claimed “rapist” was described as 6-feet, 2 inches, with a slender build and dark hair, but no facial hair.
Snider claimed that the two men were dressed in civilian clothes.
Snider was taken to Hutcheson Medical Center, where she was treated and released.
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EmeraldComments: 20 Joined: 05/02/2008 |
05/19/2008 05:14:27 PM
I would say that this lady is crying out for help. She has some very serious issues. Romegasir, it is also common for women who have been raped to never tell a soul about it. |
pleaseComments: 112 Joined: 08/17/2007 |
05/12/2008 08:54:50 PM
On a bigger note, how can we afford to ignore even ONE assault/rape? Sir, if it were YOUR wife/daughter/sister that was attacked and the police refused to believe her, how would YOU feel? What would you say to the detective that looked your wife in the eye while she was bleeding from the assault and said "get off that horse lady; it didn't happen"? I don't know what happened in this case. I'm just saying once LE and the courts decide it didn't happen, no force on earth will change their minds. |
romegasirComments: 1605 Joined: 03/14/2007 |
05/10/2008 02:45:43 PM
On a general note, false accusations of rape are common placeMore specifically for this case, she didn't accuse the police of raping her, she accused two guys impersonating officers of raping her..............it's rare that these false rape reports (and there are tons of them) ever come back on the liar, because the cops know it's a lose-lose situation.............no one wants to accuse a potential rape victim even in the face of overwhelming evidence..............................compare this to the Marcus Dixon case.......... Woman claims she is raped, police are willing to go to court to prove she is lying, and they are Lambasted for even insinuating a woman would lie...........Walker County Woman claims she is raped, is taken at her word, the judicial system is fired up, and the police and justice system are Lambasted for believing her claim of rape..............Floyd county Not that it will stop, and I'm not calling for it to stop because that's pie-in-the-sky thinking, but this constant criticism of law enforcement regardless of their actions, leads to a "darned if you do, darned if you don't" attitude; the most negative effect that this "damned if you do, damned if you don't" attitude has is that the police stop listening and caring what you or I think......................If they're going to be criticized regardless of what they do, then they stop caring about the criticism, and stop choosing their actions with any concern given to the public outcry for those actions.................. It's our fault, we asked for it, we got it.................. |
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please Comments: 112 Joined: 08/17/2007 |
05/10/2008 10:42:28 AM
This is where you have to experience the level of corruption that exists to believe it. Trust me, it's real. |
VocalwhennecessaryComments: 143 Joined: 04/10/2008 |
05/10/2008 10:04:53 AM
please..............I do not know the specifics of your case, nor do I intend to ask. I do think however, that to say all women in and around Walker or Catoosa County have no police protection is going a bit overboard. There are a lot of dedicated police officers in the two counties you mentioned who serve their profession proudly and professionally. They are doing a thankless job for the most part. Nobody ever says anything about the good things they do, but let one of them make a bad judgement call and the public and press are all over them like a bad suit. Knowing Steve Wilson and Phil Summers for a number of years, I find it difficult to believe some of the things you are claiming took place. Please don't be offended. I'm not saying it didn't happen. I am saying that for either of them to say something like that would be totally out of character and highly illegal. They are not known for being foolish enough to put their careers and the legitimacy of their departments on the line. If what you are claiming did indeed happen, please sit back and strongly consider hiring an attorney. This is an opportunity of a lifetime to expose corruption. There are high-profile attorneys who would take a case such as that just for the publicity it would generate. Whatever the case, I wish you the best and hope whatever you do brings this to a successful conclusion for you. VWN |
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please Comments: 112 Joined: 08/17/2007 |
05/10/2008 09:32:45 AM
My question is did she really make a false statement, or was she coerced into 'admitting' it was false? There is a big difference. It sounds like all week they were focused on her. So, how many grueling hours did they hold her and interrogate her? Was she mirandized during this time? Was she offered an attorney? After so many hours of being told she is a liar, the easiest thing a woman can do is agree. Once you realize the whole police department is against you and they have no intention of trying to find the guy, you get tired of reliving the whole trauma and you just say what they want to hear. I don't know what happened in this case. I do know what happened in mine. I was told, directly from the mouth of the sheriff, "even if the guy is standing on your porch throwing concrete blocks through the window, you cannot call us back". When the guy called and said he was coming after me with a gun, I was told, "if make this complaint, we will arrest you". I was actually forced to send my children away and flee to a motel and vanish myself. No, women do not have any protection. |
BigShiggyComments: 386 Joined: 01/19/2006 |
05/10/2008 01:21:06 AM
There is a law enforcement officer(s) who has been hired to protect an area in Walker County, and their resposibilty in such a hired protection area is lacking in a professional manner, distracted by activity other than required by their employeed duty of observation, and enforcement. Their actions and activity have been noticed and are being watched and recorded by concerned ctiizens and parents of children who attend this area. Ever have the feeling you are being watched??? |
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BigShiggy Comments: 386 Joined: 01/19/2006 |
05/09/2008 11:50:12 PM
My interpretation:The right to protect one's self exists, "The right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.... 2nd ammendment: "The right to keep and bear arms...." Your Right To Protection: Apply for a GFL (Georgia Firearms License) at the Probate Judge's office. This allows for one to carry a weapon for self defense unless you have a drug or felony conviction, or mental disability,... treatment thereof a of condition, or determination by the Sheriff for reason of denial. I could determine by my own judgement, that a jury of twelve would not convict a person who legally defended themself wih a firearm, or other device, against an attack from an aggressor, .... sexual predator or other assailant, if they feared for their life,... would not be guilty of a crime of offense, in the act of self defense..... |
jugaComments: 237 Joined: 02/05/2007 |
05/09/2008 10:17:49 PM
I have to disagree with the fact women are not protected. You have no idea how many reports come in about sexual assaults and hours later the person is back with the other and blaming police. It just really amazes me that when something like this happens there is always someone who wants to start bashing policeman. If people think policeman are so bad, why don't you go to the police academy and become certified and be the officer like you think one should be like. I agree there are bad apples in everything, but it is just annoying to always hear how policeman are bad guys when something such as the false report. When someone admits that the report was false, what else are they to do? |
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please Comments: 112 Joined: 08/17/2007 |
05/09/2008 09:33:04 PM
I have the facts about how police operate. I was a victim of an assault, and I reported it. It, too, scared my neighborhood. When the police could find no leads, they assumed I made it up and blamed me. It happened to me. Women around Walker and Catoosa County need to know that they have no police protection. If a woman is victimized - you better catch the guy yourself. If not, you are going to be a suspect. And they wonder why rape is not reported. |
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BigShiggy Comments: 386 Joined: 01/19/2006 |
05/09/2008 04:32:24 PM
“We are aware of the motive during the investigation and during the interview of Mrs. Snider. We determined why she did that, but we are not prepared at this time to release the motive. There is some issues that we just don’t feel comfortable with at this point, but law enforcement is fully aware of why she did it,” Wilson said.*** Without releasing Snider's reason for a false report of a crime, Sheriff Wilson has left the door open for those who judge the police without all the facts. |
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please Comments: 112 Joined: 08/17/2007 |
05/09/2008 04:04:11 PM
Is this another case of the police can't catch the bad guy so they blame the victim? |
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Vocalwhennecessary Comments: 143 Joined: 04/10/2008 |
05/08/2008 07:24:07 PM
*****Authorities on Thursday arrested a woman, who claimed she was raped by a man impersonating a police officer, with making up the entire crime. Law enforcement just a convenient scapegoat? Tell me something new.............. VWN |
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