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UK teen guilty of ‘making up’ rape claims had 35 bruises

January 6, 2020 at 3:22 pm

A British teenager (C) accused of falsely claiming she was raped by Israeli tourists, covers her face as she arrives for her trial at the Famagusta District Court in Paralimni in eastern Cyprus, on December 30, 2019 [IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/AFP via Getty Images]

A British teenager convicted in Cyprus of making false gang rape claims in Cyprus was found covered in 35 bruises, according to the Daily Mail.

The 19-year-old, who alleged she was sexually assaulted while on holiday in July by 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party resort of Ayia Napa, faces a year in prison following her conviction this week.

In addition to marks around her knees and eyes, the bruises were reported to be found across the teen’s legs, arms and buttocks, and are said to be consistent with her having suffered a violent sexual assault, according to a pathologist.

The teen, whose identity has not been revealed, appealed to both the British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, and Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to help secure her to return to the UK.

“Every second of this ordeal has been a waking nightmare,” the woman said.

READ: Mother of Briton jailed for alleging gang rape backs boycott of Cyprus

“I’m 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family,” she told Raab and Johnson in comments to The Sun.

“I would say to both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, both of whom are fathers, please support me with your actions, not just with your words.”

The Sun also reported that the Foreign Office had on Thursday contacted the teenager’s family for the first time since she was convicted.

The young woman filed a complaint to Cypriot authorities in which she claimed to have attended a party with one of the suspects, later agreeing to go to his hotel room. She claimed that, once inside, 11 other teens entered the room and proceeded to rape her, holding her down and filming the assault while she screamed.

The Israelis – all aged 15 to 18 – were arrested in July on suspicion of raping the unnamed British teen in the popular tourist resort, but were released and had the charges against them dropped by the Cypriot authorities after they claimed that the filming and “everything was consensual”.

READ: $100,000 donated to fight rape claim against 12 Israel teens

The Israeli boys were not present at the trial, and have since gone back to Israel, where they received a heroes’ welcome.

Since the verdict was announced last week, more than 1,000 people have donated, bringing the total legal fund up to £76,493 ($101,078) and rising.

Speaking earlier to Sky’s Sophy Ridge yesterday, Raab said the case needed to be handled “very sensitively”.

“We need to be careful that we don’t do anything which aggravates the situation between now [and] the date of sentencing, which is on Tuesday. But the concerns that we have, and that I have, have been squarely and firmly and categorically registered with the Cypriot authorities.”