A WOMAN has been jailed after she lied for eight years that she had been violently raped at the hands of a Nottingham taxi driver.
Gaynor Cooke told police she had been raped to hide a one-night stand from her partner in 2003.
No one was arrested because there was no match to DNA taken from her.
But in 2011, a man was arrested for an alleged minor incident and a check on his DNA threw up a match.
The man was a taxi driver. He ended up being charged with rape and faced trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
The case was abandoned when detectives spoke to a couple from St Ann's who revealed Cooke had lied about the "rape" to cover up her infidelity.
And when police went back to speak to Cooke about what the couple told them, she said "you have got me".
The taxi driver was "completely exonerated" the court heard – and instead 41-year-old Cooke was put in the dock.
She was charged with perverting the course of justice between October 25, 2003, and January 20, 2012, after making up a false complaint of rape.
She wiped away tears as Recorder Shaun Smith QC sent her to prison for two years after she admitted the offence.
He read to her extracts from statements she had given about her "ordeal". In these she had claimed: "Since I was raped in 2003, I feel my life has been changed for ever. I'm depressed after what happened to me and often feel suicidal."
The judge told her: "It's a complete pack of lies. It may only have been for a short period of time, but you destroyed an innocent life."
As part of the original investigation, Cooke had provided an 18-page statement about her "ordeal" in the front seat of a taxi.
DNA from the man she had had sex with did not match any profiles on the Police National Database, leaving officers with no suspect.
But in January 2011, a taxi driver was arrested after a minor incident and his DNA was taken.
Prosecutor Grace Hale told the court: "The police contacted this defendant, who said she was pleased a suspect was identified and wanted to do justice with a prosecution."
Cooke originally kept up her lie when visited by a police woman, saying she intended to proceed with her complaint and had nothing to add to her original statements.
The taxi driver told police he was a single man in 2003 and had consensual sex with women in his home, but had not raped anyone.
The driver was charged with rape and his trial was to take place at Nottingham Crown Court in February 2012.
Finally Cooke, formerly of Nottingham but now of Pen Green Lane, Corby, Northamptonshire, admitted she had consensual sex with a taxi driver in 2003. She said she was having problems with her partner at the time and he had been angry when she returned home.
Miss Hale said: "She told the lie and maintained the lie. She gave no explanation, when asked, why she continued to maintain her lies."
The court heard the taxi driver had been suspended from work as a result of the charge. The stress of the court proceedings had taken a toll on his health and he had been unable to return to work.
"It was a humiliating experience for him," said Miss Hale.
Fiona Tannock, in mitigation, said her client had been troubled more and more as time went on, as she was aware that someone was awaiting trial.
"The defendant could hardly bear to hear the victim impact statement which was read out in the lower court," she said.
