Changes in a kidnapping story led a Weld County jury to convict a woman for falsely reporting her abduction.
Katherine Elizabeth Bennett, 21, was convicted Thursday of an attempt to influence a public servant, tampering with physical evidence and solicitation to tamper with physical evidence, according to a news release from the 19th Judicial District attorney’s office.
Bennett told police she had been kidnapped from a Safeway parking lot in Windsor and raped, the news release said.
But her story changed several times, and police found that she had deleted text messages that would have proved her report was false.
Bennett’s lies caused serious problems for the Windsor man she had accused, the news release said.
Publicity over the false report caused the man to lose his job and damaged his reputation in the community. The man, who was arrested but never charged, testified the publicity also nearly cost him his military career, the news release said.
Bennett, who faces a maximum of 7½ years in prison, will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 24.
