Michigan Woman Who Lied About College Rape Sentenced to Jail

A Michigan woman who lied about being raped in the parking lot of a Michigan college was sentenced on Monday to a 45-day jail term.

Mary Zolkowski, 21, pleaded guilty to fabricating the sexual assault she reported as having transpired outside Delta College in Bay City, Michigan, Fox News reported.

Judge Joseph Sheeran levied an additional 220 days in jail if Zolkowski violates the condition of her two-year probation. She will have to stay clear of drugs and alcohol during that period, as well, and will undergo periodic testing to assure authorities of compliance.

Judge Sheeran also ordered the young woman to undergo a mental health assessment and refused to give her credit for time served.

In March, Zolkowski admitted in court she lied about being raped outside the college in August 2017. She claimed to have been raped previously but did not report that incident.

“I called Delta College and falsely reported the rape on their campus,” Zolkowski admitted. “My mother made the initial call, and I took the phone and continued to report.”

“I was assaulted previously, not at Delta’s campus,” Zolkowski said. “And because I was ashamed of circumstances of that when my mother called, I vented through Delta, which was very wrong of me. I should have been truthful from the very beginning, and I used Delta.”

But after her report, investigators became skeptical of the woman’s original claims when discrepancies began to appear. Authorities also found that Zolkowski seemed to have no physical results of an attack, no bruising or injuries. Indeed, Zolkowski reportedly refused to submit to a full medical exam after reporting the rape.

Zolkowski’s story continued to fall apart when the person she named as her assailant provided police with text messages from the purported victim in which she said she was raped shortly after they separated on the night in question. The texts also showed Zolkowski demanding he refuse to talk to police.

In the end, Zolkowski was let off easy, as she faced a possible four years in prison and a $2,000 fine instead of the two years of probation and 45-day sentence she received.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.