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Jailed, the serial liar who put two innocent men behind bars with her rape allegations
Last updated at 00:22am on 22.09.07
Judge Hoffman jailed Diane Berriman for eight months
A woman who falsely claimed she had been raped by two men, causing them to spend time behind bars, has been jailed for eight months.
Diane Berriman, 31, alleged she had been raped by a married pub landlord twice in the space of three years and also cried rape against another man.
But police became suspicious and Berriman was prosecuted after they discovered she was a serial liar.
Sentencing her at York Crown Court, Judge Paul Hoffman said her actions made it less likely that real rapists would be caught.
"The wider implication is that true victims of sexual crime are treated with suspicion and justice is not achieved," he added.
"These offences are so serious only an immediate sentence of custody can be justified."
Berriman accused Paul Cook, a 54-year-old pub landlord, of raping her in 2004 and also cried rape against another man, Trevor Hirst, in the same year.
Both alleged crimes were investigated and the men were held before being released without charge.
Unfortunately, Mr Cook's ordeal did not end there.
In February this year, Berriman accused Mr Cook of raping her in the Union pub in Norton, North Yorkshire.
In just one evening in the pub, Berriman bombarded Mr Cook with 30 phone calls, forcing him and his wife to unplug the phone line.
Early next morning, Mr Cook found Berriman asleep in the pub laundry. After he removed her, she went to the police claiming he had raped her.
But officers became suspicious when they examined the complaint and her history of allegations. They arrested her and she confessed to inventing the sex attacks.
Berriman, of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to two charges of perverting the course of justice and one of harassment.
Ruth Cranidge, defending, said the former council employee had gone off the rails following the break-up of a relationship in 2004.
Speaking after the case, Mr Cook said: "She used to come into the pub occasionally. To be honest, it's been going on for years and it's been a nightmare for both myself and my wife. We just want to forget about it now and put it all behind us."
At present, alleged victims of serious sexual offences have the right to anonymity - but defendants do not.
Campaigners say those accused of rape should not be named until they are convicted, pointing to a series of "cry rape" cases in recent years.
In 2001, Neil and Christine Hamilton-were accused of rape by Nadine Milroy-Sloan, a trainee lecturer.
The couple were questioned, but officers found the allegations had no substance whatsoever.
Milroy-Sloan was convicted of perverting the course of justice in 2003 and jailed for three years.
In January this year, the daughter of a church minister who made false allegations of rape against four men was jailed for two years.
Abigail Gibson, 22, made the claims against a colleague, an ex-boyfriend, a stranger and even her father, Ian.
Reader views (4)
We, as a family have just gone through the most horrific time. My husbands family have been harassing us for nearly 5 years. His sister took it to a higher level by accusing him of raping her 32 years ago! They were always a close family before the fall out and subsequent harassment and we have practically brought her children up. She has been in a mental hospital for a period of time and is known to repeatedly lie and make stories up. Infact she has oncebefore accussed a man of rape. When ever she falls out with someone she has to take it to the extreme and try and get them arrested or injunctions etc, has criminally damaged an ex's car, stopped her children from seeing their fathers, says the most horrible, nasty thinks, the list is endless. We have had this all over xmas and the new year and it has nearly destroyed my children, never mind my husband and I. I now want justice and I want the courts to lock her up. I am doing a lot of research and will make sure that my husband gets justice. Women should not be allowed to do this, the police have been heavily involved in the harassment from day 1 and should never have let this happen.
- Anon, Bolton England
Need neuro-psychology to set the record straight and ensure that people can stop making exaggerated and unsubstanitated remarks about women who are raped and people can get on getting justice to be done. Believe it or not a woman can be raped more than once in their life in a short space of time. What is happening is women are being witch-hunted and I think that some will say that it was not true to stop being hounded. I would not be surprised that the low conviction rate has gone to the extreme that women are being convicted instead of the men.
Married men are just as capable of raping, marriage is not a shield from seeking to exploit, hostile and abuse someone, just as much as any bully who does not seek intimacy and friendship in their conduct.
I want neuro-psychology to create the greatest revolution in the judical system ever and create the technology to end this back-biting problem.
- Anon, England
I despise these women who lie about being raped. Having had the misfortune of witnessing how someone close to me who was a rape victim was dealt with by the police, there should be a concerted effort to stamp out false rape claims. In my experience the police seek to show their sympathy, but in turn are extremely sceptical - they will use every inconsistency in the victim's story how ever slight into an exaggerated demonstration of why they shouldn't be believed.
- James, London
A huge percentage of all reported crimes c.20-30% are false allegations. A man's life can be ruined and he often suffers a breakdown. I agree with other jurisdictions such as the United States that there should be a very harsh sentence for those who falsely accuse others of sex crimes maybe even equivalent to the sentence the accused would have recieved.
- Rodger, London
