Another case of rape that never happened...

Can little girls lie about rape?

Police called the rape which a primary schoolgirl had described in vivid detail as "every parent's worst nightmare" and launched a huge manhunt.

They issued an artist's impression of the supposed attacker to every force in England and Wales, and considered carrying out mass DNA testing to capture the man who had apparently assaulted the girl as she slept in her bed during a sleepover party.

But yesterday Essex police revealed that the girl, who is aged under 10, had made up the story, and said that no crime had been committed.

The police denied that their reaction to the allegation, which left the community terrified that a sex attacker was in its midst, had been over the top. A spokesman said officers had had to take the girl's account at face value, and would do the same again in a similar situation.

The girl had given a detailed account of the supposed attack at her home in Basildon on March 23. She claimed the attacker crept into her family house on the Craylands estate and made his way to her bedroom, where she was sleeping with two friends. As her mother and siblings slept in a nearby room she claimed she was raped.

The girl gave a striking description of a young man with scruffy hair and dirty teeth who wore loose striped trousers with a metal loop or chain hanging from the belt. She even described a distinctive gold ring which she said had the word "Boys" or "Boyz" written on it, a detail which led police to wonder whether the attacker was a gang member.

A police artist produced an impression of the alleged attacker which was circulated to the 43 forces in England and Wales. At the height of the inquiry 40 officers were involved.

A week after the alleged attack 300 motorists were stopped and asked for information. Officers spoke to parents at the girl's school and a number of men who seemed to fit the description.

Prompted by the huge publicity drive, hundreds of people rang a hotline and offered information.

I guess they can.