Sisters girl charged in fake assault

A 14-year-old girl has been charged with initiating a false police report after she claimed she was attacked and sexually assaulted near the Cold Springs Campground west of Sisters.

The girl, a Sisters-area resident, claimed she was assaulted by a black man on April 28.

According to sheriff's reports, deputies investigated, and, during a follow-up interview, the girl allegedly admitted she fabricated the incident and the suspect.

According to detective Doug Ehrich, the girl made up the story to hide her sexual activity.

"She was involved in some consensual sexual activity with another Bend teen and to cover for that, to hide that from her mother, she came up with the story of being sexually assaulted out at the campground," Ehrich said.

According to Ehrich, the girl apparently described a black male suspect under the belief that the department would not be able to find anyone matching that description.

However, according to Detective Ehrich, "Sisters substation fielded numerous phone calls from people about suspicious subjects that matched the description.

"So we got a lot of information on a case that was false," he said.

Initiating a false police report is a Class C misdemeanor. According to Ehrich, the girl's case will be handled through Sisters' JET diversion program.

Detective Ehrich told The Nugget that the girl well understands the magnitude of what she did.

"She felt a lot of remorse, and she was concerned about what the community had gone through," Ehrich said.