Jamie Jess Kightley, 27, formerly of Northampton, and Danielle Louise Driver, 27, of Sam Harrison Way, Northampton, concocted the plan in an effort to acquit Kightley for a separate offence.
They attempted to do this by sending an email from a fake email address, purporting to be from the person who made the allegation. In the email sent to Kightley, the victim suggested that they had fabricated their account of the events and that they were deeply apologetic for doing so. If genuine, the email would have undermined the entire case.
However, the email was found to be fraudulent, and instead of being sent by the victim, it was in fact sent by Kightley and Driver.
At Northampton Crown Court last week, the couple both pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and as result, Kightley was sentenced to 16 months in prison and Driver was given a 12-month community order.
Lead Investigator – DC Jamie Apps, said: “This was a sordid effort by this pair to try and exonerate Kightley of a crime.
“As a result of a thorough investigation, it was revealed that the email was a fake and I am pleased that both Kightley and Driver pleaded guilty.
“The fair delivery of justice is a cornerstone of our society and as a result, any attempt to undermine this process is treated very seriously.”
