Crime & Safety
Police: Williams Street Alley Attack Is A Fraud
A woman who claimed to be a victim of an attack in downtown Crystal Lake has admitted it never took place.
A 38-year-old woman who claimed she was attacked in a Williams Street alley on June 6 has admitted to police the complaint was fraudulent.
On June 22, Crystal Lake Police interviewed the victim again when things in the investigation weren’t adding up. During the interview, the woman admitted the attack never took place.
Deputy Chief Eugene Lowery said he believed there is a psychological issue with the woman that caused her to generate the fabrication, based in part on an actual attack she experienced in Chicago two years ago.
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Police have requested McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office to review the case for possible criminal charges against the woman or perhaps a referral for psychological evaluation and/or treatment.
During the two weeks of the investigation, Lowery said a combination of circumstances led police to question the validity of the woman’s claim, which warranted a second interview with her.
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The area was canvassed and re-canvassed, he said, involving interviews with residents living in the Williams Street area and commuters coming off trains.
Lowery said the time of day, 4 p.m., seemed out of character for that kind of activity, because there are many people in the area and the potential for witnesses is high.
“But people who were in a position to see things or hear things didn’t hear or see anything,” he said.
The woman had displayed some minor injuries at the time she reported the attack to police that did not seem consistent with how the attack was described, Lowery said.
Lowery said police entered the investigation very seriously, exhausting many avenues, conducting multiple canvases and utilizing outside resources. A police sketch of the attacker was provided to the media as well as a description of his clothing and appearance.
“The reassuring aspect of this was we did our due diligence to bring the matter to a close and want to reassure the community that there is no person out there by this description committing acts of this nature,” he said.
Lowery thanked the community for the information many residents provided, adding that he attributes the successful close of the investigation to their contributions.
