Royal navy Wren faces jail over false rape claim

A court heard that communications officer Erin Casson, 27, met Petty Officer Brian Eaton for a sex session three months after they broke up, but then told another man she had been raped.

Casson arranged to meet Eaton at a Tesco superstore after he travelled down from an MOD base in Northwood, Hertfordshire in September 2006, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

Sex session: Casson claimed her ex-lover raped her

The court was told the pair had sex before Casson left the house claiming she needed to do something at work.

Casson met up with John Hibbert, a married man she had had sex with just 48 hours earlier, who told her to go to police, after she told him she had been raped.

Father-of-one Eaton was arrested and was the subject of a six-month investigation before the case was dropped. Portsmouth Crown Court was told that police uncovered evidence which contradicted Casson's original statement.

Kate Lumsdown, prosecuting, told the court Casson was examined at nearby Queen Alexandra Hospital where doctors discovered bruising on her arm but no signs of any rape.

CCTV from a Tesco garage showed the pair laughing and joking while neighbours remembered Casson and Eaton enjoying some 'light-hearted banter' before entering the house.

The court was told the pair broke up three months earlier after a 12-month relationship because she suspected him of cheating on her.

Casson said: " He was sleeping with a girl from the NAAFI and a hairdresser.
"I fell pregnant, had a miscarriage and he didn't even come to see me in hospital. I was not getting any support and it was a lot to go through on your own."

She claimed Eaton kicked and punched her before raping her on the sofa.

Communications officer Casson, of Porchester, Hampshire, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice after the jury deliberated for less than an hour. She will be sentenced next month.