FRANKLIN COUNTY - An Ozark woman who police say cried wolf is behind bars for filing a false report.
32-year-old Angela Blackburn accused four young men of raping her at a party last month. Now she faces a felony charge of her own. Blackburn was arrested by Ozark Police Tuesday afternoon for filing a false police report.
"It took a long time," Ashley Wheeler told 5NEWS. "They had us locked up in no time at all." Wheeler is one of four men police say was falsely accused of rape. He and his friends are glad their accuser is now under arrest.
"A little bit of relief maybe so people know for sure that she was lying," Morgan Applegate, another of the vindicated men said.
Ashley Wheeler, Morgan Applegate, and their friend Bobby Wilson spent 2 weeks at the Franklin County jail before Blackburn admitted she was lying according to an affidavit. She has reportedly said she changed her story saying the contact was consensual, but the men say there was no contact at all. Criminal investigator Justin Phillips says she was arrested at her home on 12th Street without incident. According to him, she came to the door on the phone and told the person she was talking to: 'I'm going to jail'.
Blackburn made the claim late last month after a party at a home on School Street. Her 12-year-old child is now in the father's custody according to police. Police say DHS documents reveal a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The men say Blackburn had showed up uninvited was told to leave when she became disruptive. They say that's the last they saw of her.
"I have nightmares every night about this stuff," Applegate said. "I mean, cops chasing me in my dreams."
Angela Blackburn is being held in the Franklin County jail on a $50,000 bond. Jail officials say she contemplated and threatened suicide after being brought in and had to be restrained in a special chair until she calmed down. She's charged with a Class D felony. If convicted, she faces zero to 6 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
32-year-old Angela Blackburn accused four young men of raping her at a party last month. Now she faces a felony charge of her own. Blackburn was arrested by Ozark Police Tuesday afternoon for filing a false police report.
"It took a long time," Ashley Wheeler told 5NEWS. "They had us locked up in no time at all." Wheeler is one of four men police say was falsely accused of rape. He and his friends are glad their accuser is now under arrest.
"A little bit of relief maybe so people know for sure that she was lying," Morgan Applegate, another of the vindicated men said.
Ashley Wheeler, Morgan Applegate, and their friend Bobby Wilson spent 2 weeks at the Franklin County jail before Blackburn admitted she was lying according to an affidavit. She has reportedly said she changed her story saying the contact was consensual, but the men say there was no contact at all. Criminal investigator Justin Phillips says she was arrested at her home on 12th Street without incident. According to him, she came to the door on the phone and told the person she was talking to: 'I'm going to jail'.
Blackburn made the claim late last month after a party at a home on School Street. Her 12-year-old child is now in the father's custody according to police. Police say DHS documents reveal a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The men say Blackburn had showed up uninvited was told to leave when she became disruptive. They say that's the last they saw of her.
"I have nightmares every night about this stuff," Applegate said. "I mean, cops chasing me in my dreams."
Angela Blackburn is being held in the Franklin County jail on a $50,000 bond. Jail officials say she contemplated and threatened suicide after being brought in and had to be restrained in a special chair until she calmed down. She's charged with a Class D felony. If convicted, she faces zero to 6 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
