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When you were a teenager, how far would you go to keep from getting in trouble? For one Costa Mesa girl, the answer is: make up a story about how you were assaulted in the park and report it to the police, rather than face your mother after being out late.
The OC register reports that a 17-year-old went to the authorities on February 27, claiming that while walking through a park at night, she had been dragged by the hair and tied up by two men who threatened her with a knife. She stated that she was able to escape after her assailants were chased off by another man:
"Although there were inconsistencies with her story, which could not be corroborated by physical evidence, the young lady was adamant about what had occurred," [a police] statement read. After following up in the investigation, detectives determined the girl had made the story up because she had been out late.