In March 1998, Roger Beardmore, 37, was sentenced to 9 years in jail for repeatedly raping a young girl. The victim testified at his trial that between the ages of three and six she had been raped several times while visiting the farm the man lived at.
Earlier this year the girl retracted her statement saying that she had “put a man in prison for no reason.” The girl apparently made up the story in an effort to receive more attention from her mother, but as one of the judges who heard her retraction put it, she now wanted to “right a wrong which had been keeping her awake, crying all night.”
Beardmore was released on bail in May, and formally cleared of all charge on Dec. 14.
Source:
Prisoner cleared after girl admits rape lie. Laura Peek, The Times (UK), December 15, 2001.