Metro

WABC weather gal Heidi Jones suspended after ‘rape’ lie to cops

WABC/Channel 7 weather babe Heidi Jones has been suspended by the station pending an investigation after she was arrested for perpetrating the ultimate snow job — falsely claiming to cops that a man had tried to rape her while she was jogging in Central Park.

Jones, who anchors the station’s weekend evening weather coverage and fills in on “Good Morning America,” was charged on Monday with filing a false report, a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, she could face up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.

WABC said today that it has suspended Jones pending the outcome of an internal probe.

Jones’ lawyer Paul Callan told The Associated Press that his client would plead not guilty to any charges.

Jones, 37, told cops she was jogging in the park on the afternoon of Sept. 24 when a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s grabbed her from behind, dragged her into a wooded area and attempted to rape her.

She told police that the would-be rapist was scared off by two passersby who came to her aid.

But for cops, the story was all wet.

The first clue was that she waited until Nov. 24, two months later, to report the alleged attack, the sources said.

At the time, the sources said, she told police that three days earlier, on Nov. 21, the same man somehow found her again and harassed her, saying, “I know you went to the police.”

After cops took her report, detectives conducted a lengthy investigation, canvassing the area for video and witnesses. Coming up empty-handed, they went to talk to Jones again — and noticed inconsistencies in her story, the sources said.

After being confronted with the discrepancies, Jones admitted that she had pulled the story out of thin air, the sources said.

Jones said she concocted the tale in a plea for sympathy to counter some unknown setback that she was experiencing in her personal life, the sources said.