A white Texas teen who ran into a church earlier this month — wearing no pants and claiming to have been abducted and gang raped by three black men — has admitted to staging the entire thing.
Breana Harmon Talbott, 18, was arrested Wednesday and charged with making a false report after confessing that the March 8 crime was a hoax, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Police in the town of Denison, near the Oklahoma border, told the newspaper she admitted Tuesday that her wounds were self-inflicted and that everything was staged.
“It’s unfortunate a person can falsely report such a major incident in our community that wastes the time of law enforcement and needlessly puts some people in fear,” Chief Jay Burch fumed in a statement.
“Breana Harmon Talbott’s hoax was also insulting to our community and especially offensive to the African-American community due to her description of the so-called suspects in her hoax,” he said. “The anger and hurts caused from such a hoax are difficult and so unnecessary.”
While it is unclear what caused Talbott to stage the crime, officials said they plan to seek restitution for the cost of the investigation.
On the day of her alleged attack, a man claiming to be the teen’s fiance reportedly called police and told them she was missing. He said he found her vehicle outside an apartment in the 3800 block of Texoma Parkway about 5:30 p.m. with the driver’s door open.
According to the man, Talbott’s phone, keys and shoe were lying nearby.
Cops quickly mobilized and went to the scene to investigate, the News reports.
Police officials said they wound up using all available resources in the attempt to find Talbott, to no avail. She later turned up about 5 miles away at New Creation Church — claiming to have been abducted and raped.
“She said she was sexually assaulted and three black males in a black SUV took her,” Denison police Lt. Mike Eppler told KXII after finding Talbott.
Witnesses later claimed the teen had told them she was taken into the woods behind the church and raped. In her interview with police, she said “three black males” in ski masks were the ones responsible and that they had kidnapped her.
After being rushed to a hospital, doctors discovered that Talbott suffered no injuries consistent with her story.
“It is our understanding that medical personnel who examined Talbott were unable to corroborate that Talbott had been sexually assaulted,” Burch said Wednesday, adding that it didn’t take long for cops to realize she was lying.
“The puzzle pieces just weren’t coming together,” he said. “We were unable to corroborate any of Talbott’s allegations that she had been abducted or sexually assaulted.”