Woman's lies led to innocent man's detention
BBCA woman whose lies about a man led to him being held in prison for more than a month has been given a suspended sentence.
Emma Hook, 37, told police the man threatened her with a zombie knife, which led to him being held on remand awaiting trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
She was rumbled after she made similar allegations against a woman months later, the court heard.
Hook, from Washington, admitted intending to pervert the course of justice. Her two-year jail term was suspended for two years after a psychiatrist said her learning difficulties and "emotional inadequacy" were a factor in her offending.
Hook contacted police in January 2025 to make accusations against the man, prosecutor Glenn Gatland said, leading to him being arrested and released on bail.
Two days later, Hook phoned officers again to say the man had threatened to stab her with a zombie knife, which she said had a green handle and black blade, the court heard.
The man was arrested again and held at a police station for five hours before being released on bail, Gatland said.
Several weeks later, Hook contacted police for a third time to say the man verbally threatened her which led to him being arrested and held in prison for five weeks awaiting a trial, the court heard.
The man has since died, the court heard.
'Extremely serious lies'
In October 2025, Hook told police a woman had threatened her with a zombie knife, which had a green handle and black blade, the court heard.
"Unfortunately" for Hook, it was the same officer she had reported the previous knife incident to, who said it was "unusual" for someone to be threatened by two different people on separate occasions with the "same sort" of weapon, the court heard.
When confronted, Hook said "I lied", apologised and told the officer she should be arrested, Gatland said.
In mitigation, the court heard learning difficulties had affected her life and might have contributed to her offending.
Recorder Toby Hedworth KC said lying to the police was "extremely serious" with the criminal justice system depending upon the "honesty" of complainants.
It was even more grave when the lies led to someone losing their liberty as it did in this case, the judge said.
He said was not able to say whether the original allegation was true or not, but certainly the threat claim was a lie.
But Hook's learning difficulties, which included being "emotionally inadequate and vulnerable", did temper her offending, the judge said.
Hedworth said he could lock Hook up but that would leave her "ill-equipped" to cope with her issues in the future.
She will have to work with probation service as part of her suspended sentence to aid rehabilitation, the court heard.