Charges were dropped Monday against a Sandy woman accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a teenage friend of her daughter after the alleged victim admitted he fabricated the story.
The boy lied in an apparent attempt to keep the girl from moving out of state with her mother, according to the woman's attorney.
On a motion by prosecutors, 3rd District Judge Royal Hansen on Monday threw out first-degree felony charges of rape and forcible sodomy against Kathy English, who could have faced five years to life in prison.
English said she doesn't know if she'll ever recover from the ordeal of being falsely labeled a sex offender. Media coverage of the case caused her to lose 75 percent of her customers, according to English, who has worked as a hairdresser for 35 years.
"I lost so many friends," she said. "I want my name back. I was innocent all along."
English, 54, was charged Jan. 2 based on allegations by a boy who claimed he was assaulted in November 2005 when he was 16 and later witnessed English engaged in sexual activity with another teen.
Defense attorney Mark Moffat said the accuser came to his office after English was charged and admitted it was all a lie to stop her from moving to Florida with her daughter, whom the boy was interested in romantically.
Moffat said the boy told him that he thought the
rape charge would keep the girl with her father, who is divorced from English and lives in Salt Lake County.
"The [Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office] office should be applauded for the action they took" in dropping the case, Moffat said. He noted, however, that prosecutors believed the story to be true at the time charges were filed.
Moffat called the lie "outrageous" and said it has caused English a huge public embarrassment.
It was unclear Monday whether police intended now to seek criminal charges against the accuser. ..more.. by Pamela Mason
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